Close to Home
by quiet before dawn
Summary: When a case of a dead marine becomes personal for the team, they begin to seek out answers in the darkest of places. They begin to have more questions then answers, and in the end face some dire consequences when their own members lives are threatened.
1. FROM THE BEGINNING

**AN:** Well, here we are with my first update that is an actual story. If you haven't read the brief outlines of the characters on my profile - you should probably do that now, in order for certain things to make sense. I'll be updating this story weekly, although the updates will be on different days - and during the Spring Break week (the 23rd - April 3rd) there will be no updates, as I'm in Europe. The majority of the places and whatnot are researched - the time's are usually researched, so most of it's believable. I'll also apologize if some things concerning recent events of Kensi's story are off - because I started writing this story long before we found out about Kensi's past. If you've got any questions, let me know. I love reviews, and comments - so please, feel free to hit that button and leave me some notes(:

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the concept of the show, or the majority of the characters found in the story - I'm merely playing with them until I'm forced to return them, even though I'd rather keep Marty Deeks for myself. However, the general plot and au sense of things are my ideas. So don't take them.

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><p><strong>October 19<strong>**th****, 2012**

_**11:23 pm.**_

His blue eyes darted between the semi-lit home, and the newspaper that he had brought from his home. He was not new to the act of surveillance, nor was he about to become suspicious to those who wandered the streets at the darkest hour. He had been taught by the one person who knew best about how to blend in, and had been doing so for the past three days. The man knew he couldn't leave loose ends unattended; they simply _bothered_ him too much for him to let them be – there were too many things that could go _wrong_ with loose ends. This was something that had to be taken care of before things became out of his control. Associates of his had told him that he was a control freak, and that everything had to be done a certain way. He disagreed, he simply liked order and when something changed within his life – he felt as though it wasn't in its proper place. Order. Simplicity. The two could go hand in hand if he wanted them to, but he had never been a simple man.

Someone passed, creating a shadow upon the man's newspaper. It had darkened considerably since he had arrived, and he could feign as much interest in the newspaper as he wanted to, but his own interest lay elsewhere. The house which sat across from him was his target. That was where his point of interest lay, there was someone in the house that he had to take care of. A loose end that could not be kept unattended – not by his standards at least. Another might have left it, claiming that the person inside of the house had no interest in the man, himself – but he did not wish to take that chance. This had become a personal matter, one of which he wished to carry on. He closed the newspaper, and folded it before placing it on the bench beside him. It had been a coincidence that the home he required to survey had a bench sitting directly across from it, one that had been of the utmost advantage for the blonde man. He stood, pulling a pair of dark sunglasses from the pocket of his trench coat. His gloved fingers traced the weapon he was carrying before he crossed the street at a brisk pace.

There was not a soul that would stop him, not tonight – for it had been quiet, and peaceful. They did not feel threatened in this particular neighbourhood, and they had no reason to. He was not here for any of them, they did not threaten his goals – but the human being inside the house did, and there lay the problem within the blonde haired man's plan. His fingers caught the latch on the gate, and he slipped through it – quietly shutting it behind him without a sound. He crept along the side of the house, before reaching the back door – without a second thought, the man kicked the door open and made his way into the home. He had taken the dark haired man by surprise, and a coffee cup smashed to the floor – causing a spray of hot water to come at the man. He moved quickly, much faster than the owner of the home who scrambled into the office and yanked open the desk's drawer. Inside was a Beretta M9, the standard issue gun of the Marine Corp. It was unfortunate for the darker haired man that the safety of his gun was on, as the blonde haired man's wasn't.

Two shots to the chest were all it took for the man to drop his weapon, and fall to the floor. His hands, covered in blood reached out to the blonde who stepped backwards – leaving the dark haired man to fall to the floor. His blue eyes hardened at the sight of the pathetic mess in front of him, before putting a round through the fallen man's forehead. The blonde bent over, grasping the man's hands he pulled him across the floor of the office and into the entry way, where he dropped them and pulled out a knife. He was sending a message to those he knew would be investigating this death, and he hoped that it would be clear.

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><p><strong>November 6<strong>**th****, 2012**

**UCLA Medical Centre**

_**08:48 pm.**_

The nurse couldn't help but acknowledge the scene in the emergency room. It was hardly breathtaking as one of her colleagues had called it, it was an unbearable sight and she could only wish that she had taken the day off like she was supposed to. They were not by all means a blood-related family, but the bond between each person was clear to the nurse – they were family in their own way. She watched curiously as the taller brunette woman turned away from the desk, and brushed passed the dark skinned man – who merely looked like he wanted to help the woman. No, the nurse had seen the pain in the woman's eyes – it was not comforting that she needed, it was whoever she was waiting for in the hospital. The nurse had been down that road before, and it had been a struggle to overcome until she had seen her cousin. Yes, the nurse understood why the woman was pushing the man away – but it seemed to her that they were both going through the same kind of pain, and they were both scared.

The small, redhead woman guided the brunette to the seat and sat her down – whispering words that the nurse could not hear. She only hoped that these words would be soothing to the woman, because it looked like she was in the middle of a mental breakdown, and the nurse was positive that was not what this family needed. They needed stability, something to keep them connected to the person who they were anxiously awaiting news for. It further confused the nurse when they could not give her the patient's name, shouldn't they know who they were looking for? Or was the brunette the one they were awaiting their cues from? She certainly hoped not, because the appearance of the brunette did not strike her as someone who was going to be taking charge anytime soon. A blonde man paced back and forth, casting a glance at the darker skinned man who looked torn between comforting his friend, and approaching the desk – however, before his mind was made the arrival of another man, and small woman turned her wandering mind from the scene in front of her to the woman. Her focus was solely on the woman now, she had no time to guess as to what was happening emotionally with the crew. Perhaps that was for the best.

It was for the best of the brunette, who did not take to being stared at kindly. The blonde with the black rimmed glasses stopped pacing, and sat down tiredly next to the redhead woman who was patting the brunette's back in a comforting manner. The brunette held in her hands a cold metal piece, a detective's badge and ID – a scene that was familiar to them all, as it had been on display years prior. The dark haired man, who had just joined the group, knelt down in front of the two women – who both turn their heads to him. He places a hand on the brunette's knee, before her gaze returns to the badge that sits in her hands and her fingers trace the edges of it. He murmurs something, only to the brunette who shakes her head as a response. His dark eyes meet the hazel ones of the redhead, who merely looked desperately back at him. There was nothing said between them, but their eyes spoke words. The night would certainly lack solace.


	2. HERE AND NOW

**AN: **And here is the first actual chapter! For those who have subscribed, and/or reviewed - **thank you so much**, you guys are fantastic. My updates for this story are weekly - and are completely random (if I actually get finished writing the story - it may be updated twice a week). As a warning now, this story contains the following relationships: **Nell/Callen**, **Kensi/Deeks**, **Abby Sciuto/Eric**, and **Sam** and his wife, **Michelle.** I would like to thank **Ambrosia Rush**, whose stories are quite _flawless_ for allowing me to use the name, Michelle for Sam's wife. If you haven't read her stories yet - I suggest you do it now, because they really are quite good. Cheers! (:

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Nell Jones' Apartment.**

_**07:13 am.**_

The early morning light beamed through the half-opened curtains, and Callen slowly opened his eyes. He blinked, trying to gather his surroundings before his eyes began to focus on a blurry bouncing object. The room was still a little fuzzy, and disorienting until his ice blue eyes focussed completely on the moving object. The motion of red was what gave the 'object' away, her movements were causing quite a ruckus with the picture frames she had hanging on her wall, and Callen narrowed his eyes – scrutinizing them to make sure that another jump wouldn't cause the crash of the frames to the floor. He eventually gave up and a smirk formed on his face as he watched Nell struggle her way into a pair of jeans. He couldn't help but chuckle at the redhead, who froze and turned so that she was facing the bed. A tiny smile graced her face, causing Callen's own smirk to waver before he smiled one of his rare smiles. "What are you doing?" He asked, propping himself up on his elbows. He wondered briefly if there was a chance that he could coax her back into bed, and call in sick for work – but he figured that most likely wouldn't go over well with the technical analyst, as she was appreciative of her job and like himself, was probably a little terrified of what Hetty would think if both her technical analyst and senior field agent called in sick.

Callen already suspected that Hetty knew – Hetty knew everything, and her protégée was currently looking at Callen with her hazel eyes. Hetty had taken to Nell like no other member of his team, and Callen had the feeling that she would not take lightly to him 'romancing' her – especially if things ended badly. Callen sincerely hoped they didn't, Nell Jones brought a new light into his life and made it all the more interesting. She wasn't impulsive like the other girls he had dated before. Nell knew what she wanted, but she carefully planned her plan of action before going into battle – she brought her own calmness into his life, something he didn't think he would ever feel again. He was aware that her stance had changed, and that she had finally gotten her pants on. As he studied her face, he noticed the determined look in it – obviously she was not going to crawl back into bed. Callen sighed, and dropped back down onto his back. "G, you're going to be late for work." She told him, matter-of-factly. He had the feeling that Nell prided herself in being a smart ass sometimes, and he noticed that it was mostly around him that she would point out the obvious. There was a creak of a door, and before he knew it – Nell had disappeared into her bathroom.

A few seconds later, a towel was thrown onto his face and he could hear her speaking again. Callen reached up to take the towel off of his face, only to see the red headed woman closing the door to her bedroom behind her. He sighed, and pushed the quilt off of him before swinging his legs over the side of the bed; since the two of them had started dating he was always reminded that she was the woman who was always on time, and ready to go. She always seemed to have enough energy to carry out her everyday tasks, and he often caught himself wondering how exactly she did it. In a way, Nell reminded him of the Energizer Bunny – she always seemed so awake, even when his team was coming off a three day shift and had barely gotten any sleep. Sighing again, he stood up and set the towel on the frame of the bed before making his way to the bedroom door. Making his way to the kitchen, he noticed that the sound of opening of drawers had ceased and the apartment was relatively quiet. Besides the distant sound of car horns honking, the only noise that was detectable in the apartment was the buzzing of the appliances Nell owned. His blue eyes caught sight of a cup of coffee, and when Callen went to pick it up he couldn't help but smile at the hastily scrawled note beside it. _Rise and shine, sunshine_.

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Office of Special Projects.**

_**08:17 am.**_

It took more time for the Special Agent in Charge to drive to work, then it did for him to get ready. He had always disliked driving to work, no matter the location of his current home. It annoyed him that he had to waste time _driving_, when he could have been working a new case. It was one of the few reasons he allowed Sam to drive – that and he knew Sam was usually noncompliant when it came to Callen's driving. More than once, his partner had pointed out that Callen's driving reminded him of Kensi's – reckless, and rebellious against the law. Callen normally disagreed, but he could see where his partner's logic was coming from. Callen had been taught to escape and evade people who were tailing him; he had never gotten the _proper_ driving manual from those who had taught him the technique – growing up in foster homes hadn't helped either, especially when every foster parent had a different way of teaching him to drive. It wasn't until he had been trained by the DEA that he learnt how to drive, and perhaps not even then considering he found himself, alone in "driving school" more times than the entire team collectively.

As usual, the Mission was busy. Those who worked underneath and alongside Hetty shoved racks of freshly dry cleaned clothes towards the closest that lined the back walls of the Mission. It continued to amaze Callen that Hetty had this unlimited stash of clothing for every undercover operation they went on, then again there were times where his team had to reuse old clothes as their aliases always had their own sense of style preference. Callen nodded at the agents who greeted him, and strolled into the main part of the Mission where his team was located. He glanced up at the balcony, just as he did every morning and caught sight of the redhead who had him in a rush. Apparently she had made it to work on time, whereas he was a good twenty minutes late. Nell was concentrating on her tablet; she was doing the final morning check up on the recently inputted data from the other analysts. As head analyst, it was her duty to oversee that everything went smoothly before the reports were filed with Hetty. Nell was always annoyed when the people she worked with didn't go through the proper procedure of inputting data, but most of the time they were fairly good at it. Today was no exception, and she was done reviewing quicker then she had expected.

She wasn't an agent, but she could always feel when someone was watching her. Nate had always told her it was because she was the cautious one, always making sure that she knew who was around her at all times. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, she could feel someone staring at her – and lately it had been a recurring feeling. Nell glanced up from her tablet, and searched the floor – looking for the familiar face that she knew would be looking at her, only to see that he was standing right in front of her wearing his trademark smirk. Nell shook her head, and a small smile curved her lips. She met his gaze with her own, quirking an eyebrow in a subtle challenge but glanced away as soon as he returned the action. He had somehow managed to become the biggest distraction in her life, and she needed to focus on her work, not on him. It was a game of cat and mouse, one would chase the other in a less then subtle manner until the roles were reversed – she figured that none of her colleagues had caught onto their relationship, which worked pleasantly for her. It was new territory, for both of them. Him with his 'lone wolf' status and her's as the bookworm whose trust with others wavered. Despite their issues with other people, they somehow made their own relationship work.

Callen looked away from Nell, knowing that he had won the round, not that he was keeping score and saw his partner sitting at his desk – ignoring the pile of paperwork that was already starting to form. Callen moved closer and saw that Sam was scrolling through photos on his phone, mainly photos of his children. Moving around the side of his own desk, he sat down in his chair and proceeded to throw a piece of crumpled paper at his partner. Sam glanced up and gave him a casually head nod. "How's the family Sam?" Callen asked, knowing that it had been far too long since he had seen Sam's wife, or kids. Callen had never been inclined to start a family of his own, his team had become his family and he had been perfectly content with that. However, Sam's family considered Callen to be a part of their own, for whatever reason that was. Maya had been three, and Jacob had been ten when Callen had met Sam, that had been six years ago. Now he was a prominent figure in their lives, known to them as Uncle Callen. He had a soft spot for his partner's kids, and would spoil them rotten when he could, and at times Callen was pretty sure that Sam wished he wouldn't.

Sam glanced up at his partner, giving Callen one of those looks that were specifically reserved for him. "They've told me repeatedly that they want to see Uncle Callen at one of the family dinners, and _soon_." Callen chuckled at his partner, who was attempting to give Callen a look of annoyance – it was simply too early for Sam to play the annoyed partner card, and he eventually gave up. This left Callen to look at the pile of notes on his desk that he hadn't bothered to look at for months.

None of the messages were for his given name. They were all messages from the contacts of his 327 plus aliases, some messages vowed revenge while others were written in drunken stupors. Every single alias he had ever created or had been were stored n the Archives Rooms, along with the rest of his team's aliases. They were all kept under careful surveillance by their boss, who preferred that they were to be kept organized and in order. This led to each identity being stored in safety deposit boxes, organized by alphabetical order which made them easier to access. Each box contained different forms of identity (drivers licenses, student Ids, gym memberships, the list really went on and on), and objects that made each alias who they were. The safety deposit boxes were locked, and the keys were held by select people so that no two identities could be misplaced or swapped. Of course, Callen and his team had access to each box – but the messages that were filtered through Ops were monitored by Hetty before being passed down to the team. Most of the time Hetty took care of each message, passing the information through the proper channels and whatnot – but some of the messages were personal, and Callen hated looking at them as they usually brought back the memories of the operation he would rather forget.

His thoughts about past memories were halted as he could hear the familiar bickering between the two youngest field agents of the team. About a year ago, the team had begun to refer to Deeks as an agent even if he hadn't signed the papers that would finalize the deal. Callen had no idea why Deeks wouldn't sign the papers, the benefits of becoming an agent were far better than the benefits of remaining a cop – it was his job as Special Agent in Charge to look out for his team, and when Deeks was whisked away by LAPD for an undercover assignment, the team's balance was offset and they had to work with a temporary replacement agent. That had never gone over well with Kensi, and Callen often found himself wondering how long she would last before she made Deeks hand in the signed papers – it didn't help that the entire office had a bet running on how long it would take before Deeks was made a full time agent. Callen glanced at Sam, who met his gaze with an eye roll.

"Deeks, I have the utmost patience with you when it comes to your hobbies – but getting sand in my car is the breaking point!" Kensi told him sternly, as she entered the bullpen. Deeks followed his partner into the bullpen, looking rather chastised. Callen couldn't help but chuckle at the pair, who usually found something new to argue about every single morning. "The next time I see sand all over the floor of my car, you're going to be vacuuming it!" With a final pointed look at her partner, Kensi sat down in her chair – dropping her bag beside her. It took her a few moments before she realized that Callen and Sam were looking at her with amused expressions, "What?" Without looking at each other, they continued to taunt her with their gazes, knowing that it was one of the few things that annoyed Kensi more than her partner. Her miscolored eyes narrowed, and Callen shook his head – a smirk forming on his face. "What?" Her tone became more impatient, and Sam chuckled.

Deeks was about to sit down in his seat, when Eric appeared on the balcony and whistled at the team. They glanced up simultaneously at the blonde haired tech, whose blue eyes widened. "Woah, that's never happened before." He paused for a moment staring in disbelief, before clearing his throat. "We've got a case!" Eric turned back to the Ops center, and disappeared through the sliding doors. Deeks hovered above his chair, before huffing and pushing himself up to his full height. Callen stayed in his seat, continuing to look at his favourite agent with an amused expression.

Feeling the senior agent's stare, Kensi turned slightly in her seat – her eyes following her partner's back with a narrowed stare. "Callen, stop looking at me like that." After Deeks entered Ops, Kensi turned fully to the senior field agent, a small smile settled on her lips.

"Like what?"

"Like you find me amusing."

"There's your problem, Kens. I do find you amusing." Callen rose from his seat, and grinned at Kensi before jogging up the stairs of the Mission - behind him; he could hear the female agent groan in exasperation.

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Office of Special Projects.**

_**09:21 am.**_

Eric turned to the team as Kensi finally stepped inside of the room. He tapped the tablet in his hand, bringing a picture of a Staff Sergeant up on the screen. Kensi, who had glanced at Deeks out of habit – noticed that her partner had visibly paled. His arms went from his usual stance, crossed over his chest, to pressing his palms firmly against the table in front of him. She moved closer to him, hesitant on whether she should reach out to bring him back to the center. His focus was on the photo in front of the team, and as Kensi watched – she noticed that his breathing had become tighter, and heavier. "This is –"

"Lucas Hart, former Los Angeles Police Detective and enlisted Marine." The voice of the detective rang out through Ops, and those whose focus had been on the screen were now on him. Kensi's attention had been solely on Deeks, whose face looked like a mixture of pain and shock. "Orphaned at a young age, and grew up in a mixture of foster homes." He finally moved his eyes away from the screen and found that the room of agents and technical staff were focussed on him. Deeks took a deep breath, "we were good friends during our days in the precinct. He was sort of a training officer to me, showed me the ropes of how to be a good cop. He was the one who helped me pass my detective's exam, I owe him everything."

"Owed." The group turned their attention back to Eric, "Lucas Hart was found in his home around eight this morning when one of his neighbours noticed the front door was cracked open. When he went into see if something was wrong, he found Hart in his office. Two shots to the chest and multiple stab wounds on his body – there was also a single gunshot wound to his head." Kensi's eyes flickered to Deeks, who was taking in the information quietly. It wasn't like Deeks to not make a joking comment during briefing, it was starting to concern Kensi – she wanted to reach out to him, to see the smile that usually graced his face. He scanned the records of the now deceased Marine, and pulled up the recent payments from his bank account. "It says that he's been renting an office space about twenty minutes from his home." Eric glanced up at the team, "you may be able to find something there."

"Kensi, Deeks – you two take the house, and Deeks, keep LAPD away from this. He's a Marine officer, which falls under NCIS' jurisdiction. Deeks, since you know the victim better than the rest of us, you'll be able to tell if something is out of place which may help the case. Sam, and I will take the Marine's office. Call me with any updates." Callen ordered, looking at each agent who returned his gaze with a nod. The Special Agent in Charge's eyes moved back to the blonde detective. A final glance at Deeks confirmed Callen's thoughts that the detective would be able to handle his personal feelings towards this case. They were all professionals, and as long as each of them treated this as if it were simply another case – then they would be able to get the bastard who did this.


	3. SHORT LIFE

**AN: **I'm a day late! I'm so sorry! Yesterday was busy, studying and packing. I'm off to Europe tomorrow (squee!), so there won't be an update until I get back (and if I'm feeling generous because I've gotten a staggering amount of reviews and alerts, then maybe I'll give you a double update..) But thank you to those who have reviewed - **imahistorian, amblue36 **& **Sweet Lu**. Reviews are what make me smile, and keep me writing (: Thank you. Also, I apologize as this is a shorter chapter.

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Lucas Hart's Home.**

_**10:03 am.**_

Deeks stepped out of the SRX – and slammed his door shut. Kensi looked across the hood of her car and gave him a reproachful look, as if to say to play nice with her car. He pointedly ignored the look, and strolled over to the nearest LAPD police cruiser. Kensi followed her partner, more slowly than he was walking – but followed him all the same. As Deeks approached the officer, the officer looked up from the notepad he was writing on and smirked at Deeks. He recognized the dark haired officer immediately, and warm thoughts did not enter the detective's mind. It was understood that the detective did not get along with the majority of the officers that were members of LAPD, and the two techs did their best to help the detective out whenever he needed to make a scene. He had gotten used to the while liaising job, and had learnt that having both Nell and Eric on his side was very valuable indeed. Deeks returned the smirk with a raised eyebrow, and glanced at his partner who had taken her normal spot by his side. "Marty Deeks, should have known you would be here."

"And I should have known that you wouldn't pass your detective's exam. Is there a reason you keep failing?" Kensi bit back a laugh; she had grown fond of her partner's comments towards the LAPD officers. The team teased Deeks, but they did so in a loving way – the LAPD's teasing and obnoxious comments were just that – obnoxious. She had no respect for the majority of the officers in the local police force, especially when their remarks were completely offensive. The officer's eyes narrowed at the blonde detective – who stood straighter and shot him a challenging look. Kensi couldn't help but roll her eyes at her partner; sometimes she wondered if Deeks taunted them on purpose just to get a reaction out of them. It seemed to her that he enjoyed the taunting games a little too much, and it didn't help that Nell and Eric fed him information every time he asked for it. She stepped in between the two LAPD members, and smiled politely.

"Excuse me, but NCIS is taking over the crime scene now – your presence is no longer needed inside." She had been in the middle of a pissing match before, and had dealt with it accordingly. "Secure the perimeter, but the inside of the house is under NCIS control." Kensi knew that the officer wouldn't argue with her, they never did – the majority of the time they spent looking at her assets, which wasn't something Kensi appreciated, however – if it meant that the abhorrent comments about her partner would stay in the officer's mouth, then she could withstand the leering stares. "C'mon Deeks, let's go and process the scene." She watched as her partner gave the officer one final stare, before he moved away. At the look the man gave her partner's back, Kensi narrowed her eyes. Kensi Blye was the only person who was allowed to give her partner that particular look, she wouldn't admit it – but she was protective over him, and after his last incident with the LAPD and the suspected mole she didn't trust them – she didn't trust anyone but her own team, her _family_.

"Kens!" Her narrowed eyes moved from the officer to her partner, who was looking at her expectantly from the walkway of the home. "Weren't you the one who was in a hurry?" Kensi's mouth twitched and it melted easily into a smile that only her partner of three years could bring out. She walked over to him, and he gestured for her to go into the house first. "Ladies first." Kensi shook her head at him, before taking the black latex gloves out of her back pocket and sliding them onto her hands. Deeks lifted the crime scene tape for his partner, and she ducked underneath it. They stopped in the doorway of the home, and looked around the entrance which happened to be the living room. "The pictures did not do this place justice."

Kensi couldn't help but roll her eyes at Deeks, "if you could just place your eyes back into your sockets, and focus on the work at hand." Her eyes scanned the entrance to the house, and she moved inside. There was a wall that caught her eye, and she made her way over to it – she scanned the wall, looking at the variety of pictures that the victim had hung. Her dark eyes settled on a familiar face in one of the photos and she smiled. Kensi lifted the photo from the wall, "Deeks, how well did you know Hart?" Her hands still held the photo, but her eyes had finished picking out the finer details in her partner's younger looking face. The wall held photos of different people, but there was one consistent woman in the majority of them. She felt the presence of her partner at her shoulder, and held the photo out to him. Black clad hands took the photo from her.

"He was a good man and friend; everyone at the precinct respected and admired him. It was hard not to." Kensi looked quizzically at him, and he glanced at her. "Lucas was what you could call a Good Samaritan. He was always a cop first, and put everyone else before his own safety." Deeks paused, and put the photo back onto the wall. "A couple of months after I joined LAPD, Lucas was shot while he was off duty at a drive by shooting. He wasn't supposed to be there, but it had to have been a coincidence and we were investigating it – there was a witness, and the shooters came back for round two." Deeks took a deep breath and his blue eyes scanned each photo. Kensi watched him apprehensively, Deeks rarely talked about his life with LAPD and it surprised her that he was revealing this much to her. He smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes like it normally did. "Lucas saved her, he took the bullets and ended up in the hospital for over three weeks, going through extensive rehab in order to regain his position at the department. When I asked him what he was thinking a couple of weeks after the shooting, he told me that he wasn't thinking; that the only thing that was going through his mind at the time was 'protect the girl'. I've never seen a police department respect a man as fast as they did with Lucas Hart. That man was a hero and he sure as hell didn't deserve to go out like this."

A scream emitted from the outside of the home caused the two to look at each other, and they quickly moved to view the outside of the home. Deeks stepped forward once he recognized the woman; the officers that Kensi had requested to secure the perimeter were holding back Lucas Hart's fiancée, Andrea St. Claire. He hadn't seen her in months, and she had grown considerably larger – that wasn't surprising considering Lucas had informed him months before that they were expecting a baby. He had been happy for his friend, a little jealous that someone close to him was finally starting a family – but happy nonetheless. He moved towards the officers holding her back, "Andie." Her tear filled eyes moved from the house to his face, and Deeks waited as she blinked away the tears in order to recognize him.

"Marty!" Deeks nodded to the officers who released her, Deeks held out his arms and Lucas Hart's fiancée collapsed into them – knowing that her tears would soon stain his shirt. "I can't believe this is happening to me, he made it through the war and now this? We were supposed to be safe here, and this happens? I just ... What am I going to do?" Deeks winced, and he adjusted his grip around her waist – his other hand rubbed her back soothingly. "We were going to be married after the baby was born, he was so excited to be a father. This wasn't supposed to happen." He held her closer to his chest, trying to think of something to say that would be of comfort to her but nothing came to mind. He took a deep breath, continuing to rub circles on her back gently. The hardest thing about his job was trying to reassure the grieving family members that everything was going to be okay – it was worse when the victim was someone that he knew personally, luckily for him it rarely happened.

Kensi watched the pair briefly before taking out her cell phone and dialling Callen's number. The brief observation that the pair had, had on the crime scene had shown nothing more then what the pictures that had been sent to Ops had. The killer was sloppy, the two bullet wounds in the chest, multiple stab wounds and the shot to the head that was post mortem, was excessive and malicious – but the use of a silencer had been effective. "Hey, G?"

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Lucas Hart's Home.**

_**10:09 am.**_

The Challenger screeched to a stop outside of the rented space that the deceased had been working out of. "Riddle me this," Callen started as he stepped out of his partner's vehicle, "why is it that he needed an office space twenty minutes away from his home?" The Special Agent in Charge scanned the building and the surrounding area for anything that looked slightly suspicious. The building was more secluded then those surrounding it, which Callen assumed was why the Marine had chosen the location. It allowed privacy for the entrance, yet at the same time it proved to be a safety hazard. "What was so special about this place?" He muttered under his breath, Sam glanced back at him with a questioning gaze.

"What did you say, G?"

"I asked why is it that Hart needed an office space twenty minutes away from his home." Callen caught up to his partner easily, and pulled on his black latex gloves before checking to see if the door was unlocked. "I hope you brought your lock picking kit." He smirked at the look Sam gave him, before kneeling down and pulling his own out of his pocket. It had become an unspoken rule between the team that they had to carry their lock picking kits with them at all times. Callen wasn't nearly as gifted at picking locks as the resident female agent on their team, but he managed well enough on his own – despite the critique that his partner frequently gave him. His eyes focussed on the challenge in front of him, tuning the majority of the surrounding sound out.

"Maybe he needed a private place to stay once and awhile."

"What?"

"That was the answer to your question, G. Pay attention."

"I apologize for trying to get us into the office," Callen winced as he heard the faint click of the lock and he stood, before the senior agent pushed the door open. "Why would he need someplace private? He had a home that was located on a quiet street, what more could he possibly need?" He glanced over at his partner, who shrugged in response. Sam had moved away from his partner and was now standing by a large mahogany desk which was the only thing, other than a bookshelf, that was in the office. Callen scanned the room before joining his partner at looking through the papers the Marine had placed on it. "These are old case files." Callen picked one up for a closer inspection, and Sam voiced what he was thinking.

"Old case files for the LAPD. What is he doing with all of these?" Sam spread the files across the desk, and noticed markings on the sides of them. "Take a look at this; he's made side notes of each case." Callen squinted at the chicken scratch that the Marine had apparently written.

"How can you even read that?"

"I read your writing, don't I?" Sam grinned at Callen, who had gone back to ignoring his partner's words. To say that they had a dysfunctional relationship would be an understatement, the day would mainly consist of insults and teasing – but at the end of the day Callen would always regard Sam as the one person who knew him best, coming in a close tie with Hetty or Nell. Sam was family, he knew when Callen was lying to him and when he was hiding something – he knew when Callen was in pain, and when Callen simply was in a bad mood without having to talk to him. It was a bond they shared, similar to Deeks and Kensi's or Nell and Eric's – a partner bond. That's what Nell had referred to it as one day after Callen had asked her about her knowledge of Eric's feelings when he was miles away – it was simply a feeling she got deep down, it fit pretty well though – each member of the team had the partner bond with their partner, it was what made each pair of partners _good_. After a glance at his partner - Sam turned the files over to read the case number, each case from the LAPD precinct had its own catalogued number. Luckily for the team, their LAPD liaison had given them access to the database in which each number was stored in case they were to ever run into a problem such as this one. "Hey, Eric – can you run these numbers through the LAPD database and give us the short version on what each of these cases involved?" As soon as Sam got the confirmation from the tech on the team, he began reciting the numbers as he flipped through the pile that was sitting on the desk.

"They're old cases – dating back about forty years ago. Uh, they seem to be related – or at least that's what LAPD were classifying them as. Each case had the parents gruesomely murdered, which isn't an understatement – you should really look at some of the pictures that have been loaded into the database, and at least one child was orphaned and sent to next of kin or foster homes. There's been no recent activity in any of the cases, not since the lead investigator retired and deemed them cold cases. That's really all there is."

Sam frowned at the blonde tech's words, nodding to himself before he ran a hand over his smooth shaven head. "Thanks Eric. We'll be back once we've finished up here." Callen had opened a file and was flipping through it – his eyes scanning the photos in front of him. "Why does he have old case files of these murders? Eric said that the files go back forty years, and the database hasn't updated since the lead investigator on the cases retired."

"I couldn't tell you, Sam." Callen was just as confused as Sam was; there really was no reason for the deceased Marine to be investigating thirty year old murders – especially since he wasn't LAPD anymore, but army. There was no way he would be able to have jurisdiction on any of this, and it made Callen wonder if the man had an ulterior motive or if he was merely just curious. Callen however, was the kind of guy who suspected everyone had an ulterior motive to their actions and that this was not merely a case of curiosity. He was about to tell Sam just as much, when his phone began ringing. A glance at the caller display told him that it was Kensi, and he answered it with a quick "hello".

"G, we're at the victim's house."

"What'd you find, Kens?"

"The victim's fiancée, she just got back from a different location and found police cars sitting outside her home with yellow crime scene tape surrounding it."

"How about the house, was anything in there?"

"Nothing more, than what was in the photos Eric showed us. The killer's an amateur – there's no doubt about it. With the level of brutality he inflicted on the victim, there's no way that he's a professional killer. A hit man would be able to do it with less force, and make less of a mess then what this guy did." Callen could hear Deeks murmuring to what had to be the fiancée, Callen raised his hand to his face and ran it over it – there was nothing he hated more than dealing with the partners of the deceased.

"Great, have LAPD seal off the scene. No one goes in that house without NCIS' approval, got it?" Kensi gave the confirmation that she understood, and he smiled slightly. "You and Deeks meet us at the Boatshed, bring the fiancée with you. I want to talk to her." Another confirmation was given, and Callen hung up the phone before glancing at his partner. "Grab the files, and we'll take them back to the Mission." Sam raised a questioning eyebrow, "the fiancée's at the house." Was all Callen had to say for his partner to understand. He grabbed the file that he had placed on the corner of the desk, and followed his partner through the door. It was now time to start piecing the information together.


	4. DYING LOVE

**AN: **I'm back! Well, actually I was back a few days ago - but jetlag really screws up your body / sleeping / and eating patterns so I haven't been the most joyful person to be around lately. Here's an update that is two days later, for which I apologize. For those who are complaining about me adding Abby Sciuto to this story - I'm sorry that you don't like the character, and couldn't see the story through .. especially since Abby isn't a main character - she simply is dating Eric and makes an appearance once and awhile. Thank you to those who have reviewed, it means so much (:

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**The Boatshed.**

_**10:36 am.**_

As Sam and Callen approached the Boatshed's entrance, they could hear words being spoken from the inside of the building. It was faint, so neither one of the senior agents could make out the words that were being spoken – but neither one could recognize the voice. Sharing a knowing glance, Sam pushed the door open and allowed Callen to walk through. The scene set before them wasn't a common one in the Boatshed – mainly because the team used it for interrogating suspects, and questioning high ranking officials. There were very few times where they brought a civilian in who had recently lost someone close to them, but Callen knew that this was the only way to have the fiancée calm down. Being in front of the house where your fiancé was recently murdered tended to bring out the worst in the decease's better half. The partners spotted the blonde detective first. He was leaning against the wooden pillar, watching the moves of both his partner and the woman in front of him – the only acknowledgement he gave the older agents when they came in was a quick glance, which suited Callen just fine. He didn't want the fiancée to be more upset then she already was. Callen listened quietly to their conversation as he approached, stopping beside Deeks and giving the woman a once over look. The fiancée held a photo album on her lap, her facial expressions ranging from sadness to happiness as she told Kensi about the moments.

"We met at one of the police banquets that the LAPD hosts every year. My dad was a retired police officer, and my best friend had recently joined the ranks as an officer and he wanted me to go with him. I had debated about not going all day, but in the end I convinced myself that I was going to have fun." The fiancée smiled sadly at one of the photos, and held it out to Kensi – who took it carefully. "Lucas looked just as bored as I did, and came up with this lame comment which he told me later he thought had been pretty witty but it made me smile. Genuinely smile, not the fake ones I had putting on all night. There was just something about the way he talked; he was such a charismatic person." Kensi handed the photo back, and a look of sympathy flashed across her face. The fiancée took it into her hands and ran her thumb lightly over Hart's face before sliding it back into the photo album. "Agent Blye, have you ever lost someone close to you?" Callen noticed that both Kensi and Deeks had stiffened in their positions, but after a few moments of quiet – Kensi relaxed slightly, and a quick glance over at Deeks showed Callen that her partner had relaxed as well.

"My father." Kensi told her quietly, leaning back in the seat she was occupying. Deeks adjusted his position against the pillar and leaned forwards – his hands resting on the back of Kensi's chair, his thumb grazing her shoulder.

The fiancée's green eyes focussed on the dark ones of the female agent, and she saw sadness within the depths. Andrea St. Claire had lived with enough police officers to know that the memory of the woman's father still haunted her. She raised her sharp eyes to her fiancé's friend, and saw that Marty Deeks was carefully observing his partner's reaction. She had assumed that it was still a touchy subject from the moment both parties stiffened at her question, and the look of concern on Marty's face only supplied more evidence in that belief. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

Deeks glanced over at Callen, who was watching the exchange. Sam had distanced himself from the party, and was standing by the coffee machine that they kept in the Boatshed. He turned back to the woman, whose tear stained face was watching him carefully. "Andrea, this is Special Agent G Callen – Callen, this is Andrea St. Claire, Lucas' fiancée."

Callen took a step closer; giving her what he hoped was a comforting smile. "Andrea, when was the last time you saw Lucas?" His voice was smooth, not sharp like it normally was during interrogations – he wasn't interrogating the fiancée though, she had just lost someone close to her and Callen knew that hard emotions would arise within the detective if he didn't tread carefully. Deeks was pretty mild mannered when it came to cases, but Callen had seen what the case with Ray had done to him – and Callen was damned well not going down that road again. There were certain aspects of life that remained better untouched.

Andrea's face wrinkled in thought, as one of her hand absently ran over her swollen belly. The other grasped the silver locket that hung from her neck, and she met Callen's questioning look with an even stare. "I was in San Diego visiting my sister for the past two days, Lucas was supposed to go with me and visit my family but he said that something had come up with the Navy and he had to report back to his commanding officer. I didn't think anything of it, but now I wish I had waited for him." Her bottom lip quivered, and Kensi hastily reached out and handed her a tissue. "Thank you," she dabbed her eyes with it – her mascara coming off in the process. "I should have known something was wrong, and then last night I woke up crying but I thought it was the hormones of the pregnancy. I didn't suspect anything like this would have ... could have happened! Not to my family, not now." Tears spilled from Andrea's eyes, and Sam came over with a cup of tea which he handed to her. She thanked him quietly, and took a sip before placing it back onto the table. Callen knew that this feeling of loneliness was all too new for the woman, and pushing her to answer his questions would get him nowhere. "What am I going to do? What am I going to say to my baby when he wants to know who his father is? Or where daddy went?" Her questions were addressed to Kensi, and the brunette's own face revealed hesitancy on answering them.

Silence overtook the Boatshed for a few moments as Kensi thought about what to say to the woman. She had known her father, there had been no one around to tell her about him so she had clung onto the memories of him that were embedded in her own mind – but this child would have no recollection of his own father. "Only time will tell, but your baby deserves to know that his father was a good man and that he did not deserve to be taken away from him." Kensi reached out and grasped Andrea's hands in her own, "the pain that you are feeling – it will lessen, I can promise you that. It will always remain with you, but time will heal it."

Deeks moved so that he was kneeling in front of Andrea, and her gaze moved from his partner to himself. "Andie, you should call your sister – you shouldn't be in Los Angeles right now. Go to San Diego, and be surrounded by your loved ones, okay? You're going to need all of the support you can get." She nodded, though the effort in the nod was limited – Deeks knew that the next while would be tough on her. "If you need anything, you have my cell phone number. Call me, okay?" He received another nod, and looked over his shoulder at Sam, who dipped his head. "There are agents waiting outside to drive you to your sister's home, if that's where you wish to go." He offered a hand, which Andrea took gratefully. Deeks pulled her up carefully, and reached out –giving Andrea a hug, which she returned. "If you need anything, Andie – anything at all, don't be afraid to call .. okay?"

"Thank you, Marty." She looked at the agents in the room, who were looking at her with a mixture of respect, and sympathy. Her lips curved upwards, into a pleasant smile. "Thank you, all of you. Please, when you find the man who did this – let me know, because I want to look into that son of a bitch's eyes and tell him what he took away from me before he goes to prison."

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**On Route to the Mission.**

_**11:02 am.**_

The ride back to the Mission was fairly quiet; Deeks could see that Kensi's mind was elsewhere – especially when she had thrown the keys to her SRX to him, and told him that he was driving. It was rare that Deeks found himself in the driver's seat of his partner's car. Kensi regarded the car like it was her baby, much like he regarded his surfboard as his. However, the seemingly distant brunette was what he was solely focussed on as he made his way down the busy streets of Los Angeles. His blue eyes flickered to the brunette's face every few seconds, as he drove down Lincoln Blvd towards the heart of the city where their office was located. His feelings towards the entire situation were conflicted, on one hand he knew that he wasn't okay with the grotesque murder of his former associate and friend, but at the same time his partner was going through an inner emotional battle and like he always did – Deeks would put her first. He didn't harbour any ill feelings towards Kensi for his own feelings about her – he only had himself to blame for that. She was his partner and one of the few people he could truly trust in his life, so no matter what he was currently feeling – Deeks would always put Kensi Marie Blye first. Another quick glance allowed him to see that she was watching him with a darkened gaze, a sight that he rarely saw but knew it meant that she was feeling some pretty intense emotions. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he switched lanes easily – casting another glance at his partner. "Hey, Kens? You okay?"

She moved her head back to look out the window, and he turned his head back to the road in front of him as he turned onto another road that would take them closer to the Mission – they were at least fifteen minutes away from their destination. The car remained quiet, his question still lingering in the silence; the only sounds were the hum of the radiator and the honking of cars around them, which was beginning to annoy Deeks immensely. Kensi had a habit of bringing out the best and worst in him, the best being that she understood him then most and realized when he needed his space – the worst being that she pushed his buttons like no other and was really the only one who could get a huge reaction out of him. He resumed his periodical glances at his partner, more so observing the busy lanes of the Los Angeles traffic as he turned down Santa Monica FWY. "I'm fine." Her soft voice caused Deeks to look at her sharply, but there was no movement of her head that indicated that she had responded to him. Had he simply heard those words? Was it all a part of his imagination because he wanted an answer from her?

"What?"

"I'm fine."

A smile formed on the detective's lips and he turned his head back to the road ahead of them, so he hadn't been hearing things – Kensi had actually answered him, but the relatively quietness of the car had caused him to think that she hadn't. The word "fine" suddenly reached his ears, and he frowned. Fine was their unspoken code word for "not fine", he knew that every time she used it that something was wrong – and he had repeatedly told her that if she didn't want him to ask questions about what was wrong, she was going to have to come up with a new word. Not that it would have made a difference because Deeks always could tell when Kensi was hurting, whether emotionally or physically. "You're using that word again." He pointed out, keeping his eyes trained on the road – he so badly wanted to look at his partner, but at the same time he didn't want to see the pain that he knew would be etched in her face.

"I'm fine." She repeated, a slight whine merged its way into her tone and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You're hurting." He returned easily, and took Kensi by surprise. Glancing away from Deeks, she looked at the blurry scenery. They had come so far if he could tell that by the sound of her voice, then again Marty Deeks had always been utterly observant when it came to her feelings – something she wasn't sure she appreciated or not. "Kens, talk to me. I know Andie brought up your father, and I know that the memories of losing him and that even though you have answers, it's still not complete closure – but I'm here."

The words sunk in, and Kensi took them into consideration. "That's the problem; everyone in my life will leave me sooner or later. I don't want to be left alone. Look at Andrea, she didn't deserve this – she was supposed to have a happy life, and live happily ever after. I'm terrified that people are going to hurt me first, so I push them away so that they can't hurt me. I'm the one to blame. I'm going to push everyone who has ever cared about me away." Kensi sighed, and watched as her partner's lips rose into a half-smile. His blue eyes met her dark ones.

"I'd like to see you try."


	5. DAMNATION OF MEMORY

**AN: **I apologize for the delayed update. I've been so busy with drama plays - I've just been exhausted. I'm a little far behind on actually writing the story - so we'll see how many more weeks I can go without not finishing a chapter. But anyways, enjoy(:

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Office of Special Projects.**

_**11:14 am.**_

"You're not going to like what we've found." The team was gathered in Ops, looking at the computer screen. Nell was standing at the front, her tablet in hand, informing the team what she and Eric had found – which was more than either of them had bargained for in their search. "Lucas Hart, formerly of Fresno, California was born on April 26th 1974, in Los Angeles to proud parents - Trevor and Lydia Sable," the set of photos that Nell had moved onto the screen made the entire team wince. The sight of the deceased's parents were not the most pleasant, in fact when Nell and Eric had first got a hold of the Marine's past – they had to take a twenty minute break, and both of them had vacated Ops until their stomachs settled. Of course, being out in the field the agents had dealt with this better then the two technical operators – but it was still unsettling to see. "Both of his parents were found murdered in their home in Los Angeles, during the summer of 1976. LAPD opened up a case file, but the killer was never found. LAPD had three other cases during the summer of 1976 that matched the same M.O used in the Sable murders." Nell paused, and watched as the agents took in the information. After a glance at the screen, and seeing the gruesome murders again – she quickly moved them into a folder. She turned to Eric, who was lounging in his chair before he stood and came to stand beside her.

"Digging through Hart's history, we found out that he spent the early years of his childhood bouncing between foster homes before he settled in the Hart's family home. Since the majority of his life was spent in the Hart's home, we focussed mainly on his life with them." Eric pulled a picture of a younger girl onto the screen, "this is Amanda Hart – his foster sister. It seems like the two of them were pretty close, she was his most dialled number, besides his fiancée on his phone."

Kensi's eyes flickered to her partner; whose face looked less tense then it had been in earlier in the morning. "So, do we go and find out what she knows?" Deeks asked in a calm tone. Kensi pressed her lips together, she been worried that deep down her partner was more focussed on dealing with the man who had done this using less then legal tactics – but as the day progressed, she was impressed that he was handling the case as professionally as he could. Kensi was fairly certain that if this had happened to someone she had cared about, her emotions would be less stable.

"What if she doesn't know anything?" Kensi countered in an equally calm tone. The chances that the woman had found out her foster brother's death were slim, LAPD had been ordered not to contact any of his next of kin – but Kensi could see that the man didn't have a lot of kin to notify. As far as it appeared – he really only had two people who knew everything about him, his sister and his fiancée – and perhaps they didn't know as much as they thought they did. The doors to Ops opened, and the team turned to see their boss come in.

"I believe that we may be able to use this as a chance for you to brush up on your undercover skills. Mister Deeks, and Miss Blye – you will be going undercover in the club to see if she knows anything that could help with finding the murder of her brother. Mister Callen and Mister Hanna you will remain as their backup outside the club. Try not to frighten the young lady, and remain observant of anyone who is watching her. Whoever did this to her brother may very well be after her as well." She looked around the room, at her agents. "I do not need to tell you to be careful. Now go, I expect you all back here at 21:00 to prepare for the assignment."

Eric looked a little perplexed at the tiny woman, "uh. Go ... where?"

Hetty turned to the blonde technical operator, and Eric's eyes widened slightly. "Anywhere Mister Beale, go wherever your heart desires." Chuckling, Hetty left through the Ops leaving her team standing in disbelief.

"Did Hetty just give us the day off?"

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Office of Special Projects.**

_**10:24 pm.**_

As Hetty had expected, the team had cleared out of the Mission before the water for her tea was even done boiling. It wasn't every day that she gave her best team the day off, but she knew that they would be working late and giving them the day to them was really the best way for them to be on top of their game. She had an inkling of what each team member would be doing, but they had a habit of surprising her despite their belief that she knew everything. The day had passed quietly, considering the familiar banter of the team that resided outside of her office had made themselves scarce. A quiet "ahem" from her doorway caused the older agent to look up, as a small smile settled on her lips. "Mister Callen," she greeted, placing the pen that she had been using to sign paperwork down onto the table. "You're back early."

Callen smirked, before taking his usually place across from the older agent. "You know me, I'm married to the job – much like another agent I know well." His blue eyes were filled with understanding, and Hetty could tell that Callen was joking which caused her smile to widen a little bit more. He had always been her favourite and most trusted agent. Not that she didn't trust any of the others he worked with, but Hetty knew that Callen would do anything to help her, whether she asked or not. That had been proven by his stunt pulled when she had resigned to confront the Comescu Family, and he as well as the rest of her team had followed her. That had not been part of her plan, she had wanted the Comescu Family to end their search for Callen – it had all been done to protect him. With Alexa Comescu dead, the Comescu syndicate had fallen – leaving Callen to live his life as peacefully as he could. Though, Hetty mused, he did not make that easy for himself.

"Yes, however this other agent you refer happens to run the entire Office. Being married to the job is something I have gotten used to, something I would not wish upon other people." She hadn't expected for Callen to take to this job as quickly as he did – but ten years was a long time for an agent to be a part of a government agency. "I expected you to be out with one of the members of the team, Sam perhaps?" Hetty raised a questioning eyebrow, and it didn't surprise Callen that she had overheard the earlier conversation between him and his partner.

"It's Saturday, Hetty. They have their own lives to live." Callen had actually spent the day with Nell, who had wanted to go shopping for some new bed sheets and blinds for her apartment. He had asked the redhead what she was doing, and after giving him a reproachful look she had told him that she wanted to start renovating her apartment. Callen loved her apartment the way it was – it brought him a sense of warmth, a sense of being at _home_, and he had told her that as well – only to get an exasperated look in return. There were so many things that Callen knew he would never understand about the woman who was being trained to take over OSP, and quite frankly – Callen thought that was the best part. He learnt something new about Nell every single day, something that made him love her more. She had quirks that made him smile, and habits that he wanted her to stop but knew that she never would. Those traits were what made Nell, the woman that he loved. It still bothered him that she was dead set on redoing her apartment, the way he looked at it – it suited her and her personality. The colors weren't bright, but they weren't dull either – they were soft, and welcoming much like the woman he had been dating for seven months. "Besides, I think Sam was spending the day with his family."

A light tapping on the column by Hetty's desk, caused the two agents to look up at the technical analyst – who had a small smile on her face. "Hetty? Marty and Kensi have arrived." Hetty nodded to the redhead, who turned back to the Bullpen – most likely to inform Deeks and Kensi that Hetty was on her way.

Callen rose from the chair he had spent the last ten minutes occupying, and waited for his boss to make her way around the side of her desk, as she entered the main part of the Mission. Callen was glad that Hetty was occupying the agents for the night, he knew that keeping their minds off the case and maintaining their covers was good for them – it was also good practice for when they went in deep. Lately it seemed that their undercover operations were quite limited, and their days were mostly filled with paperwork and crackpot politics. Callen made his way into the middle of the Mission - Kensi was leaning on Deeks and Sam's desk, listening to Eric who was talking rather exuberantly with his hands. Deeks was watching him with an amused expression, and the smile that had easily formed on Callen's face would not have been found there years prior to finding this team.

The team Hetty had put together somehow managed to complete his makeshift family, and he knew that feeling this _secure_ was all thanks to the mysterious, tiny woman. He watched as Nell hurried out from the wardrobe department, and handed Kensi something black before gesturing to where he assumed Hetty was waiting. He watched as Deeks' eyes detoured from Eric's wild hand gestures, to the disappearing figure of his partner as she slipped behind the changing screen. He watched as Eric failed to notice the change in interest in the blonde detective, or sense that Nell was standing behind him with an expression that mirrored Deeks'. Callen stopped the sentimental train in its tracks as he forced his mind to focus on the task at hand. He figured that it wasn't going to be an extremely dangerous assignment for either Deeks or Kensi, but nonetheless he wanted to be completely focused in case something did go wrong. He made his way towards the group, locking eyes with Nell for a brief second before the both of them looked away. The gesture was too innocent by far to mean anything to observant eyes, but neither Nell nor Callen wanted to take the chance with one of their coworkers finding out before they really established where they were going with their relationship.

Deeks caught sight of Kensi emerging from behind the changing screen, and the smile that formed on his face was one of amusement and appreciation. His partner looked good in just about anything Hetty decided to put on her. For all he knew, Kensi could wear a burlap sack and Deeks would still find her to be the most beautiful person he had ever seen or met. He lounged further back in his chair, making it obvious that he was checking her out as her heeled ankle boots clicked across the floor of the Mission. He grinned cheekily, as his blue eyes rose from her legs to her face. "Kens, I knew you had legs but seeing you in those boots is like torture." If the saying if looks could kill were true, Deeks was fairly certain he'd be dead a thousand times over by the stare that Kensi was currently giving him.

"I'd like to see you walk after I kick you with these boots." She threatened, her eyes playfully narrowed at him – and he chuckled, before standing to meet with their boss.

"Would you two behave?" Callen teased, before tossing Deeks his earwig as the detective moved to go passed the senior field agent. He handed another to Kensi, before glancing up as his partner arrived at the entrance to the Bullpen. "Ladies and gentlemen, our star SEAL has just arrived – let's give him a round of applause."

"What was that I heard about behaving?" Kensi shot back at the senior field agent, and they could hear the laughing of her partner from behind the changing screen. He emerged a few seconds later, clad in dark jeans and a crisp white dress shirt and a black coat. Deeks rolled up the sleeves before shoving his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. "I still look better than you." She said half-heartedly, looking at her partner's attire. Deeks always managed to catch her eye – he was good looking, and not normally the kind of guy she tended to appreciate, but he had his own sense of style that worked for him. Kensi had to admit though; her favourite attire of his was when he ended up in a suit for an assignment. Those were definitely her favourite missions. Although, most of the time during those missions Kensi had to fall back on her sexuality in order to get the information that they needed – so, there were really both pros and cons to it.

"Sam, and I will be trailing behind you guys. We'll be outside the club if you need backup."

"Callen, what are the chances we're going to need back up in the club? I highly doubt that Amanda Hart is going to pull out a gun and shoot the two of us."

Callen rolled his eyes at the junior agent, "you know that it's procedure and for my own reassurance, Kens. Besides, if the same person who killed her brother is after her – and he's at the club tonight, you're going to be so thankful that we were there."

"Whatever, you overprotective fool." Hetty watched the light banter between the teammates with pride. Whoever the Director of NCIS was at the time seemed to always want to put their own team together, and break up what she had firmly called hers. First it was Tom Morrow, then Jenny Shepard, and now Leon Vance had threatened to separate her team. It wasn't surprising that her position as Operations Manager had outlasted all of their reigns as NCIS Director, and she couldn't help but feel a little critical towards those who claimed they could create a better team than her's. Each member of her team brought something different to the table; she had done her research with all of them and had found that key points in their lives made them crucial members to the team.

Nell came out of the largest Archive Room that held the metal safety deposit boxes used for storing identification. In her hands were two large metal boxes, and she set them on the table in front of the team who had remained in the Bullpen. Pulling out the key from her pocket, she unlocked the boxes and Kensi and Deeks took their respective ones from her as she stored the key back into her pocket. "These aliases will work fine for the assignment, seeing as you used them only a few months ago to gather intel about the drug smuggling ring within that club that had just opened and they weren't compromised." Kensi slipped the silver rings onto her right ring finger, and opened her clutch – making sure that everything valuable was in there. Deeks did the same, and slid his watch onto his wrist before storing the wallet he had used for Jared Michelson into the back pocket of his jeans. "Hetty said to give you these." She placed a set of keys into Deeks' hand, "be careful." Nell watched as Deeks' blue eyes sparkled with excitement, "good luck."


	6. TIME FLIES THE HOUR FLEES

**AN: **I told myself I was going to get this up on time - and I did. It's currently four minutes to midnight, and I'm posting this. Thank you for all the reviews - but I warn you, this story may go on hold for a little while so I can finish chapters - (I'm only half done chapter twelve, I apologize) but thank you, so much for everything. All of you who have subscribed to this story, or reviewed - you're all champs.

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><p><strong>October 20<strong>**th****, 2012**

**Club Illusion.**

_**10:56 pm. **_

Deeks was positively thrilled that they didn't have to wait in line in order to get into Illusion. He made it a habit to check out all the new clubs that were opening in LA, just in case he had to go and work a case there. Of course, he never revealed his real name nor did he ever stay very long. Usually it was just a quick pop in to see the layout, and then he would peace out – keeping the memory of the club in his mind. There came a time though when the undercover cop couldn't enter the club anymore due to his cover being blown. There were quite a few clubs in the Los Angeles area that Deeks had to stay out of when they worked cases – the bartenders and waitresses all knew him, and if it wasn't the bartenders or waitresses – it was the managers. He had gotten into a lot of trouble with some of them – due to his aliases quick tempers, and there had been a few times where Callen and Kensi had to go undercover posing as the couple instead of Deeks and Kensi – this however, was not one of those times. He had always hated it when someone else was partnered with Kensi, it was a protective thing that he had – something that Kensi would never find out about. He rarely trusted other people with watching her back, and if it wasn't Sam or Callen who was partnered with her – then there was no way that Deeks would let Kensi leave his sight. Nell had brought up the theory of the "partner bond", which at the time had made Deeks laughed – but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it could be a real thing. The detective always seemed to know where Kensi was, and the last time she had gotten hurt – he had known something was wrong.

He wondered if it was the same thing for Callen and Sam. Those two had been partners for such a long time, Deeks was positive that they knew everything about each other. Maybe not so much about their personal lives, but every little habit each other had about how long it took to load their weapons, how many miles they could run – the list was practically endless. Deeks knew most things about his partner. He knew what her breaking point was when guys in the clubs hit on her, he knew what she was afraid of going into the field, he knew how long it took her to reload her gun because in that time he would have to cover her, he knew how reckless she was at driving, he knew what to give her in order to make her happy. He _knew_ Kensi Blye, and sometimes that scared him. He wondered if Kensi knew that he knew all of this. He had made a point to know all of this because when it came down to it – he knew that it could potentially save both of their lives. It was why he hated sending her in with other people. They didn't know Kensi as well as he did, they didn't know her little habits about shoving candy wrappers in between the seats in her car, they would never figure out that she had to pause to push her hair out of her face before reloading her weapon – and those were things that people working with his partner needed to know. Thankfully, when it wasn't him watching his partner's back – it was usually Callen. He knew that the senior agent was one of the few people who knew Kensi as well as he did, so when he was partnered up with Sam – he found that he didn't really mind it, as long as Kensi's back was covered by Callen.

He stepped out of the Porsche 911 GT2, before twirling the keys to the car around his finger. He understood now what Nell had meant by her "be careful" – the car that he had rolled up to the club in was not one of the cheapest cars that the OSP branch had attained. Hetty had a soft spot for beautiful cars, and Deeks had to admit that he enjoyed driving them on occasion. Deeks stepped around to the other side of the car, and opened the door for his partner – who took his outstretched hand gratefully. As she stood – Deeks eyes drifted down her bare back, the dress was slightly distracting considering the back of the dress was nonexistent. Deeks moved his eyes away from the plunging backline of the dress, and offered his arm to Kensi. Sliding her arm through his, her eyes surveyed the outside of the club. It was busy, which wasn't surprising – but the people standing in the line looked anxious, and some looked a little out of place with their more casual appearance. Kensi could tell right off the bat that those people were not going to be allowed in, their appearance was too casual and Illusion was a club that was privy to those who could afford million dollar cars and had expensive taste. Kensi was glad that Nell had picked out these particular aliases for herself and Deeks. Clara Edwards and Jared Michelson lived shallow, and petty lives – but they had expensive taste and could afford it. She raised her chin a little higher, slipping easily back into the identity that was Clara Edwards.

The two walked up to the bouncer, who gave them a quick glance before looking down at his list. "If you're not on the list, back of the line." He told them in a gruff voice. A faint smile danced on Kensi's lips as she leant forward ultimately breaking the contact between herself and her partner. She was searching out her's and Deeks' aliases on the piece of paper. Eric had easily hacked onto the club's server and had added Clara Edwards and Jared Michelson to the list.

"Clara Edwards, and Jared Michelson – we're on the list." Kensi replied, giving him the most charming smile she could muster. She felt Deeks adjust himself beside her, and an arm came around her waist – connecting them again. Kensi pointed to the name's she had just told the bouncer, and he looked up at her with dark eyes before they moved down her body. Kensi was used to it, and she was thankful that Hetty had put her in an outfit where the back was more revealing than the front. She could feel the hand on her hip tighten protectively, and she leant into Deeks – an action she knew the bouncer would notice. "So, we can go in?" She prodded, the smile she had previously had on her face had faded and it had merged into one of hesitation. He nodded, unclasping the rope that blocked the outside world from the club and gestured for them to go into the club. She thanked him before stepping in front of Deeks strategically as she had no doubt that the man would be staring at her open back. Inside the club was loud. Loud might have been an understatement, as Kensi was fairly certain that everything that was happening in the club was echoing in her mind. She couldn't hear herself think properly as the pulsing of the music blared in her ears.

Deeks pulled Kensi towards an abandoned hallway, where it no doubt would be quieter. "Now what?" He asked in a raised tone. Kensi found herself backed against the wall, and she turned her head slightly to the main part of the club – searching out for any sign of the foster sister. "I have a feeling that I'm going to be getting a major headache by the time the night ends." His blue eyes scanned the club briefly before they returned to his partner's mismatched eyes. Kensi smiled slightly, her eyes meeting his. She knew exactly how he was feeling, her head was already aching and they hadn't even been inside the club for five minutes. "Hey, Eric? What's the layout of this club?" Deeks asked, his eyes never leaving his partner's. The stare was beginning to make Kensi feel uncomfortable, and she knew that's the kind of reaction Deeks wanted to get out of her – well, she wasn't going to give him that pleasure of feeling victorious. Kensi reached up with her hands and straightened the collar of his shirt, before smiling coyly at him and ducking under his arm which had been boxing her in. She could hear Deeks' faint chuckle behind her, as she strolled through the crowd of people and made her way towards the bar. "Our resident pageant queen is heading to the bar, this could mean trouble."

"Deeks, would you just focus on the operation." Callen's stern tone made Kensi laugh, as she ordered her drink. Considering there was no one around her, she received a few weird looks from the people nearby – luckily for her, Deeks had appeared by her side and they turned their heads away from the pair. Somehow, Deeks managed to always play his part perfectly. Their covers were usually pretty simple, Kensi played the spoiled heiress while Deeks was the dutiful boyfriend – it came naturally to him, which often made Kensi wonder whether his stories about him being smooth with woman were true, or if deep down he was just a natural romantic. "Have you guys spotted Amanda Hart yet?" The partners eyes returned to watching the club and Kensi could only shake her head at the people in the club. She took a sip of her drinking; knowing that she had to keep up appearances, and was thankful towards Hetty who knew that in order to sell a cover it meant taking some liberties.

Deeks' eyes landed on a petite woman, who was making her way across the club with a tray in hand. "Guys, I've spotted her." Kensi followed his gaze and her own dark eyes caught sight of the dirty blonde woman. "There's someone watching her." It took Kensi a moment to realize that her partner had only revealed this to her, and her eyes moved from the foster sister to a blonde man that was watching her intently. It definitely wasn't subtle, but to the untrained eye it would merely seem as though man was infatuated with the woman. To Kensi and Deeks however, it was apparent that the man following the woman's every move knew her – and knew her well. An accident bump from a man beside Deeks, caused him to knock into Kensi – who glared reproachfully at the man. Within seconds the man that they had been watching had disappeared into the growing crowd, and Deeks swore under his breath.

"Go and talk to her, we need to know if she had any idea what her brother was working on." Callen stated calmly, oblivious to the scene that had just taken place on the inside. "If she feels like she's in danger, then she needs to go into protective custody until we have a handle on this guy."

Kensi intertwined her fingers with Deeks and led him swiftly from the bar and towards the foster sister, through the throng of people on the dance floor. Deeks instantly understood what she was doing, and they made their way to the edge of the dance floor – a short distance away from the foster sister, who was coming closer and closer to the edge. Without a moment's hesitation, Deeks twirled Kensi and she stumbled into the woman. Amanda Hart dropped the tray of drinks she was carrying, the few glasses that were balanced precariously on it shattered upon impact of the hard ground. "Oh my," Kensi started, her hand instantly covering her mouth in shock. Deeks approached the pair a look of concern flashing across his face. "I'm so sorry!"

"I apologize, Clara's not the most graceful on her feet. She can get a little clumsy at times, it's probably why we don't go out to clubs often – considering things like this happen on a regular basis." Deeks told her, bending down and picking up the tray that Amanda had dropped on the ground. "I truly am sorry."

Amanda waved off their apologies, "please! Don't worry about it, it was my fault really. I should have seen you." Amanda looked at the pair, before taking the tray gratefully from Deeks, whose arm snaked around Kensi's waist again. "I'm still getting used to the atmosphere here; my brother always said that I should always pay more attention to my surroundings." She smiled an action that really lit up the woman's face. "I mean, I've worked in clubs before – but Illusion is so much busier and it's really easier for me to embarrass myself, especially since there are always celebrities coming in here." She studied them for a moment, "you're not famous are you, because my embarrassment would only increase."

Kensi laughed, and shook her head – her brunette curls bouncing around. "No, when you're an only child and inherit your father's fortune - you tend to get to go into the most elite places around the city." It was one of the few reasons that Kensi figured that this alias fit the club so well; Clara Edwards was a known high money spender – inheriting her father's small fortune, and blowing it off on trivial things such as getting herself and her boyfriend into the most elite clubs. It was also one of the few aliases whose personalities annoyed Kensi, considering the majority of Kensi's money that she had inherited from her father was placed into the bank and kept there for safe keeping.

Amanda nodded, "I wouldn't know. My parents are still alive and well, and even if anything were to happen to them – my brother would get most of the money. He was always their favourite."

"He sounds lovely."

"He is! Lucas is probably my best friend and the person I trust most in the world. That can't be said for him, he probably wouldn't tell me anything secretive – that's the kind of guy he is, always keeping things close to his own heart." Amanda rambled on, "but then again – I don't have the best track record on keeping secrets, so it's probably best if he keeps them to himself." She flashed them a light smile, "I'm sorry – but I need to get someone to come and clean this up. If you'll excuse me." Kensi and Deeks shared a glance, both of them were thinking the same thing; whatever Lucas Hart had been working on, he hadn't shared it with his foster sister – which wasn't a surprise. Amanda Hart certainly knew how to talk.

"Callen, she doesn't know anything." Kensi told the Special Agent in Charge, her dark eyes watching the disappearing figure of Lucas Hart's foster sister. "It doesn't surprise me that Lucas didn't tell her anything, that girl couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it."

"Alright, Kensi and Deeks – head back to the Mission. Hetty requested that you two bring her clothes back. We'll wrap this up there, and then we can go home. Good work team."


	7. WHILE THERE IS LIFE

**AN:** Well, I wasn't going to post another chapter up for a few more weeks - however, I recently saw the latest promo for the next episode. Let me just tell you, I haven't stopped grinning like an idiot since. It's been ten minutes. Yep, I'm a little bit of a fangirl. However, after this update - this story may go on hold for a little bit while I attempt to catch up in writing it. Thank you for all the reviews, it really means a lot to me. (:

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><p><em>(PART 1)<em>

**October 22****nd****, 2012**

**Pete's Cafe and Bar.**

_**6:14 pm. **_

Kensi and Deeks sat across from each other at a local restaurant, quietly talking to one another. The recurring dinners started shortly after the time that Deeks had supposedly been fired from NCIS. It had started out as an "I'm sorry" present from her partner, and had progressed into a weekly occurrence. Deeks enjoyed spending the night with his partner, talking about things that weren't work-related. Deeks considered Kensi to be the closest thing he had to a best friend. He hadn't heard from Ray in awhile, as his best friend was under witness protection and Kensi had filled the void in his life. He knew that he couldn't replace Ray as his best friend, but it was nice to know that there was someone there for him to talk to. Of course, Nell was his confidant – the one person he could turn to whenever things became too stressful, but Kensi was there and understood him in a way that he would never understand. After they placed their orders, Kensi turned her head to Deeks and studied him for a moment. He looked up from the dessert menu, and shot her a questioning look. "What?"

Her dark eyes studied him, and she tapped her lips with the fork she was using to eat her salad. "Deeks, why don't you ever talk about your time at LAPD? I understand that you've never really liked it there, but after seeing you interact with Andrea." Her voice wavered, as she saw her partner's blue eyes darken. There was definitely something that he didn't want to talk about; she had a feeling that losing Jess Traynor as his handler was only one part of the equation, but she had never been able to piece together the bigger part of the picture as to why the rest of the officers had an immense dislike for him. Normally Kensi would have left the questions alone, but the recent death of his mentor with the LAPD had Kensi thinking about why he had decided to stay at LAPD. "You never talk about your Rookie years, or the different undercover assignments you had gone on – except when it involved cases from your past. Even then, you seem to distance yourself from us. Why?" She knew she had gone too far with the questions, his eyes showed her that much – deciding her best way out of the uncomfortable silence was to simply go back to eating her salad.

The sound of his voice surprised her. She had figured that he wouldn't answer her, and the dinner would be finished in silence. "I suppose it's the same with you and not talking about your training at Quantico, or your early days as a probationary agent." Reaching over the table, he stabbed his fork into her salad and brought it to his mouth. Kensi knew he had a point – she hadn't mentioned her days at the Academy or as a probationary agent during the three years that the two of them had been partners. She didn't blame him for wanting to know, there wasn't that many people who worked with them that knew of her days with the FBI, or her probationary days – except those who had been there the longest.

"That's different."

"It's not." He told her, "You've just shut down the link to your past – something you'd rather not talk about." He paused for a moment, before grinning cheekily at her, "or they're just not worth telling." He stabbed reached across again, and Kensi swatted at his hand playfully – receiving some questioning stares from the other patrons of the cafe. The playful nature of the partners was one of the things Kensi enjoyed most about their partnership; Deeks always seemed to make the most stressful things of her life a little easier to manage. She took a final bite out of her salad before she passed the plate over to him, rolling her eyes as he smiled at her thankfully.

His words finally registered in her head, and she looked at him slightly outraged. "My stories are worth telling! They're better than your own!" The sight of his grin caused her to stop looking so outraged, and it slowly melted into a tiny pout – Deeks was the only person who was able to bring that expression onto her face. It sometimes took Kensi a few moments to realize when Deeks was teasing her; especially since the majority of the time her partner had a bizarre sense of humour that could be bipolar. One minute he was perfectly serious about something, and then the next he was joking around and being the Marty Deeks that shouldn't be taken seriously.

"To be honest, I don't know why I don't talk about it. My past with LAPD isn't exactly a conversation that comes up on normal days, and I've never really figured that anyone was all that interested in it." He looked down at his plate, or rather Kensi's plate of salad before continuing to talk. "I pretty much figured that my past with LAPD was easily figured out, seeing as the majority of the shields there hate me and I think my boss is ready to tell me that I don't belong there anymore." It was true, after the words his Lieutenant had spoken to him during the last undercover op he had been signed on to do with LAPD – Bates had told him that he should make a decision, soon. That particular conversation wasn't something he had shared with the rest of the team, and he got the feeling that Hetty hadn't even known about the threatening conversation. Well, it probably hadn't been meant as a threat at the time – but that was how Deeks had taken it. He could feel the heat coming from LAPD, and he often questioned himself as to why he didn't just resign and sign the NCIS special agent papers. Being a cop was all he had ever known, ever since he had stopped being a lawyer and had joined LAPD – he had put his heart and soul into his work, Deeks knew that there was no going back from that.

Their food was delivered, and Kensi half-smiled at Deeks' honesty. Her eyebrows furrowed together and Deeks knew that she was thinking about something, she absently twirled the pasta on her plate around her fork before bringing it into her mouth – allowing her to chew her food while she thought. "I've known Callen the longest of anyone on the team." Her statement had caught Deeks by surprise and he looked at her – his mouth open wide as the fork he was holding in his hand hovered between the plate and his mouth.

"What?"

"Our Callen, G Callen? I've known him the longest - out of everyone, except perhaps Hetty." Kensi twirled another forkful of her pasta around, "except there are times where I don't think I know him at all." She sighed and her dark eyes met the lighter ones of her partner from across the table. The color of the walls made his eyes look greyer, and Kensi became a little distracted by it. She had seen his eyes darken when he was angry, and become a lighter blue when he was excited – but she had never seen them look so grey.

"Kens, where is this coming from?" His tone was soft, and he was honestly curious how she knew Callen – but the way she was speaking was causing him to worry a little. The conversation from two days prior was coming to mind at her tone. Was she honestly thinking about starting to push them away? Deeks knew that he wouldn't let that happen, no – he _couldn't_ let that happen. The team at NCIS were almost the closest things to family that he had – Kensi and Hetty were his emergency contacts, Nell was like a sister to him and while he couldn't place what Sam and Callen were to him, he knew that they were family nonetheless. He had begun to figure out awhile ago that if they lost one of their family members, the entire team would fall apart and Deeks was not willing to let that happen.

She looked at him; her face showed him mixed emotions. Love, loss, hatred, anger, but most of all there was a feeling that he couldn't describe. It was a mixture of confusion and love, a more somber expression than the ones that had just flashed through her facial features. She sighed and looked down, her dark hair falling into her face. "Callen's family, he's like a brother to me." Kensi looked up, and a small smile settled on her lips. "I don't mean that he's like an older brother, though the way he acts sometimes indicates that – he's more along the lines of a twin brother, he understands my actions in a way that no one else could and he interprets them in a way that no one else could figure out." She chuckled, "I remember when I was first on Hetty's team and we had just come back into the office we were working out of at the time, the case that we had just finished wasn't the best one and there was this new agent – something about him irritated me beyond belief, and I was so close to flipping out at him. I'm not sure if Callen could see it in my face, or could just sense my growing irritation but he told the probie that unless he wanted to have kids, it was probably best if he just left the immediate area. It definitely showed me though that he knew me almost as well as I knew myself." She paused for a moment before taking another bite of her pasta, "he was the first person I truly trusted after my father's death – the first person I knew I could count on to be there when I needed him. I think that's what scares me a lot of the time, that feeling like I'm going to lose him like I lost my dad."

Deeks had listened carefully to her as she talked – he had always known Kensi and Callen went back years before he had arrived at OSP, but he could never understand how their bond worked. Deeks wasn't stupid, he knew that Kensi had just told him a huge part of her insecurities that she felt and it was just one more thing that Deeks had to add onto his growing list of "Kensi Marie Blye". He was proud of her, for opening up about something he knew she considered to be an extremely important thing. "How did you guys meet?" He asked her softly, knowing that if he asked the question with too much force that she would shut down and wouldn't reveal anything. He studied her carefully; under all the layers of the tough, "I don't need anyone's help" attitude was an insecure girl, who was only looking for answers to help her through the difficult moments in life. Deeks was aware that she thought everyone was going to leave her at one point in her life, but he could see how much each of the team member's adored her and he knew that they would go to the ends of the Earth to make sure that she was fine. If that failed, he knew that he, himself would do anything just to make sure that his partner was safe.

"Callen and I? I wasn't always one of the smoothest operators that you can find." Kensi's lips twitched at the memory, things had certainly changed since that moment when she had accidently ran into G Callen. "I was twenty three, and making my way through training at Quantico. It was one of those days where everything was going pretty smoothly, and I felt really good about how the day was going to end. Things kind of went downhill after I stepped outside to get my lunch, and accidently ran into Callen. I wasn't watching where I was going, so of course that had been my fault – I was apologizing over, and over again only to notice that he wasn't paying much attention to me but was looking over my shoulder with an unreadable expression." Kensi laughed, mostly to herself at the memory of the days before OSP. "I've seen him have that _coldness_ in his eyes since then, but after that incident he's never shown me that much anger – even when I would completely make a probie mistake. I'm pretty sure he was more upset at himself then he was at me." Kensi paused, and took a sip of her water. "I was in so much trouble, my training officer screamed at me for a good half an hour and then Callen took me aside and bought me a smoothie. After everything I had done to screw up his operation and made him lose the man that he was tailing, he bought _me_ a drink. The coldness that I had first seen within his eyes had disappeared, and now he was telling me that everything was going to be fine."

Deeks could only smile at his partner's enthusiasm as she told the story about her and Callen. It seemed that Deeks wasn't the only one who could barely stay made at Kensi – it appeared that Callen had tried to stay mad at her, and it had ultimately failed. He could tell that Kensi had no idea that she had that affect on people, and that she wasn't aware of how enthralling she was as a person. "What happened after that? I'm only assuming you two stayed in touch."

She nodded, while sipping her water from the glass. "A few months after I accidently ran into Callen, I came home to my apartment – I was just starting out as a FBI Special Agent, and I could tell that something was wrong with my apartment when I walked into it. I had my gun out, and was ready to shoot the intruder if there was one – when I flicked on the lights and Hetty was sitting in the oak chair that I had. I had never been so terrified in my life, I almost shot Hetty – thankfully Callen had come into the room behind me and had told me that it was fine, but never have I been so terrified in my life." Kensi smiled, and laughed at her partner's slightly shocked expression. "Callen took my gun, put it on the table beside me and Hetty asked me if I wanted a job."

"Sorry, I'm still stuck on the part where you almost shot our boss."

Kensi laughed again, meeting her partner's amused gaze with her own – she shook her head. "I figured you would."


	8. THERE IS HOPE

**AN:** This one is a little shorter then the chapters that I normally write, but it's slightly adorable. Anyways, I've decided when I finish writing a chapter of this story - I'll update one on here. I've just finished chapter twelve (yes, I realize I'm a little behind) and I'm currently working on chapter thirteen. But yes, keep reviewing - and I love you all for sticking with this story. I also apologize for the lack of updates lately - school has been destroying me. _  
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><p><em>(PART 2)<em>

**October 22****nd****, 2012**

**Nell Jones' Apartment.**

_**6:22 pm.**_

Sunday had been deemed a day of rest by God knows who, and Nell had never been more thankful for it. The night before had been a long drawn out process, and Nell had never been happier to return to her warm, comfortable bed. Sadly, instead of curling up in her bed with the main source of her warmth – she was left to deal with the coldness of the sheets. Callen's insomnia had returned that night, so that ultimately meant she was sleeping in her bed, alone. Those nights were always her least favourite, and over the course of the seven months they had been dating she had only encountered his sleeping problem five times – each time it left her feeling more alone than ever. She had gotten so used to having Callen's warmth near her, that when he was gone it left her feeling restless and annoyed. Needless to say, that night Nell hadn't gotten a lot of sleep and when she finally managed to stop fidgeting and lay still – her eyes had only closed for a few hours, leaving her feeling more exhausted than ever. His sleeping problem was the reason that she wasn't expecting him tonight, nor any night this week until he finally slept a good eight hour sleep. Callen hated coming over to her apartment when he couldn't sleep, in fact the night they returned to her place from the op – he had left in the wee hours of the morning. Nell had asked him why he continuously left whenever his insomnia set in, and the only response she had gotten was that it was honestly better for both of them.

She worried about him often, and she knew that it annoyed him when she did worry. Nell couldn't help it though. Callen had become a huge part of her life that she couldn't even imagine her own without him. Whenever she tried to think of hypothetical situations where Callen wasn't in it, she blanked – which scared her, as her hypothetical situations had always been a game to her. Ever since she was a little girl, Nell had set up hypothetical scenarios in her head where she would create a different future or past for herself, which would ultimately change who she was – but now? Now, she couldn't shape her future in a different way – they always ended with one constant variable. G Callen. So, on the nights where Callen spent most of the time away – she had come to accept that he wasn't going to be at her place, and it was often a surprise if he did show up. That was why Nell was placing the leftovers from her dinner into the fridge, she had planned a quiet evening alone – just herself, a bubble bath and the book that Nate had sent her for her birthday. It took Nell by surprise when the door to her apartment opened, and Callen walked through it – his mouth drawn into a line, and confusion written all over his face. Her hazel eyes met his blue ones, and she gave him a tentative smile. "Hungry?"

Callen stopped inside the door, taking his shoes off and hanging his coat on the stand that was placed by the entrance to her apartment. "You should really lock your door. That's how people get killed Nell, they leave their door unlocked." He told her, his blue eyes flashing with anger. He walked closer to the island, "and to answer your question, yeah – a bit." Nell had already taken his mention of her locking the door as a yes to her question about him being hungry, and had placed his plate on the island in front of him. He slid onto the chair, and studied the food intently.

Nell sighed knowing the confused look on his face had to do something with the case, "G – the food isn't going to eat you, it's fine." She studied her boyfriend for a moment, before taking a bite out of her food. "I'm surrounded by death, and horror every single day I go to work – the fact that I leave my door unlocked helps me think that the people of this city have a sense of goodness. I don't want to be constantly surrounded by fear." Actually, the truth was that Nell had simply forgotten to lock her door – but her statement about not wanting to be constantly surrounded by fear was a valid point. She had seen so much death and violence in her life that she so desperately wanted to believe that there was more kindness on the Earth then she had seen. Her eyes watched as Callen's face winced, and another flash of anger went through his already icy blue eyes. "Something is bothering you about the case." She stated blatantly. His blue eyes met her hazel ones, and she could see the hardness that was in them. A subject that was left better untouched, apparently. "Callen," the use of his last name brought his hardened gaze down from the redhead's and he focussed intently on the plate in front of him. Nell softened her tone, "G, you can't shut me out."

That was wrong. He could shut her out if he really wanted to, but shutting Nell Jones out was the last thing on his mind and he knew sooner or later she would find out what was bothering him. That was one of the worst and greatest things about Nell; she always found a way to figure out what was on his mind. Sometimes he liked that she was so determined and stubborn while other times he wished that she would leave him to his 'lone wolf' state. Hetty had told him a long time ago that he wasn't destined to be alone forever, and that one day he would find someone who would be able to accept him for who he was. He hadn't known it at the time, but the one person in the world who could bring him a sense of serenity was occupied in the Ops Center – oblivious to the conversation going on in the Mission below her. He hadn't wanted to fall in love with Nell Jones, in fact – he hadn't wanted to fall in love with anybody until he found out who he was, and what his purpose in life was. He had always figured that would be his downfall, not knowing who he was or what he was meant to do – but Nell hadn't minded. He sighed, "it's hitting too close to home." He didn't mean just with Deeks, but with himself as well – in fact, he was impressed by how well the LAPD detective was handling the case. He constantly remained professional, even letting Kensi deal with the fiancée so that his emotional tie with the deceased wouldn't interfere with the information that she relayed back to him. "I can relate to how Hart must have felt – bouncing between foster homes. It wasn't the easiest growing up in the foster care system. I mean," Callen paused for a moment. "What if he was killed because he was trying to locate his birth parents, and he stumbled upon something he shouldn't have? This could have happened to anyone in the foster care system."

Nell tapped the fork against her mouth, thinking of the things she could say to make it easier on him. The truth was – Callen always took cases involving the foster care system a little too close to home. It was harder for him to separate himself from that line of information, then it was for anyone else. They hadn't grown up in the system to understand it was like, Callen understood the pain that the kids felt as they bounced between homes. She had been around Nate when he had done research into the kids who came from foster homes, and what their feelings had been like. She knew that every time they had to move houses, they felt like they hadn't been their best and that was why they were being relocated. Of course, half the time that wasn't the problem but that's what the children had been led to believe. Hearing the words spoken from the child's mouth had broken Nell's heart, and she understood that Callen knew what it was like. "G, there's always going to be cases that affect you more than the others. You've grown up in the foster care system, and you understand what it was like for Hart." Nell missed Nate, she missed her best friend because he would be the one she would turn to for advice on how to deal with this. She had, of course heard the many typical psychological approaches she could take but Nell knew that none of them would work on Callen. "This type of case, dealing with children who've come from foster homes will always affect you more because you understand the feelings of the kids. That's what makes you an amazing agent; you can relate and understand – which is all they really need sometimes."

Callen looked down at his place, Nell's words registering in his head as she said them. Smiling slightly, the agent looked up at the analyst. "When did you become so much more knowledgeable than the Special Agent in Charge? Who, I might add has been working at NCIS for a much longer period than you?"

Nell giggled, before rolling her eyes at his teasing. She was happy to see that her words had been taken to heart, and she hoped that it would help him get through this case a little better. "I've always been more knowledgeable then you, Special Agent G Callen." She told him, her hazel eyes flashed with mischief. She had an incredibly high IQ – something that she never would discuss with her teammates, but her intellectual IQ meant nothing when she was faced with field work. She may have been too smart for her own good growing up, but there were people around her who were smarter than she was in different aspects of life. Her social IQ could have used some work, no one wanted to be friends with a brainiac growing up – so Nell had lived a fairly quiet life, immersing herself in books and different languages. By the time she had graduated, Nell was already fluent in French and Spanish. She turned to put her dish into the sink, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Callen was approaching her. "Now, my question for you is – are you staying here or going home, because I'm going to feel used if you've only decided to come for supper."

Nell turned, and reached out – taking the dish from his hands and she placed it into the sink. The redhead turned back to her boyfriend, expecting an answer for her question. Instead she found herself pinned lightly against the counter, her hazel eyes staring into the ice blue ones of G Callen. A small smile crept onto her face, and her lips met his in a soft kiss. Callen pulled away, his eyes searching her own for something that she was not privy to. His infamous smirk formed on his lips, as he gave Nell another soft kiss. "I love you, Nell Jones." Her smile grew, and her arms snaked around his neck – pulling him closer towards her.

"I love you too, G Callen."


	9. FORTUNATE FAULT

**AN:** Well, Rookie Blue killed me with feels tonight - therefore, I have relieved my pain by deciding to post a chapter. It's been such a long time since I posted for you guys, and I think you all need to hound me whenever I don't post. That being said - I haven't really been neglected _all_ of you. I've also been neglecting my own happiness seeing as I'm so far behind on my own readings of my favorite fanfictions. I'm incredibly upset by this, and yes. It's been a rough journey since I've posted last - for that, I apologize (: Thank you all for staying with me, and hopefully when I finish this course for my job - I'll be able to start writing for this again.

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><p><strong>Date Unknown<strong>

_**An Unknown Library in Los Angeles.**_

No one could have helped him with what he had been trying to look for. Well, perhaps they could have – but it would seem suspicious that he had been looking through newspapers that were printed before his birth. He hadn't wanted to draw attention to himself, that was not why he had been there. He had a greater purpose for that evening, something larger had grabbed his attention and it needed to be addressed immediately. The newspaper crinkled in his hand as he flipped through the pages precariously. He had no respect for ancient artifacts such as this newspaper, he never had – it was one of the less then appealing traits that had been pointed out to him on several occasions. Words from past friends, teachers, coworkers, came flooding back into his mind. He had always been told patience was a virtue, and that he became too wrapped up in things to see the bigger picture. He thought they were all judgemental, and had no idea what life had been like for him growing up. A criminal father, and an absent mother. Nothing had been considered easy for him, no matter what his peers thought. A bright, gifted child – that's what everyone had presumed him to be. His teachers told him that he could rise above the troubles in his life, and he had. Their encouragement brought him something he had never thought he could achieve – his own determination.

He glanced back at the article, and brought his head closer to read the fine print of the paper. The headline had confirmed what he wanted to know, but curiosity had him reading the rest of the article. He was intrigued. Even as a boy he had always had a rather odd fascination with the crime throughout the city – it was probably what frightened people from becoming too close to him, but he had never cared. He was an independent person, and had become that during his childhood. At young age he had quickly learnt that a person didn't need people surrounding them at every point in their life – they could manage perfectly fine without the fuss. **Marine and Wife Found Dead in Their Home Leaving Behind Two Year Old Son**. The article was simple, precise – exactly what he needed to gather information. He ran a hand through his blonde hair – glancing around, he's well aware that the library is silent but he has the need to make sure that no one is watching him. Everyone was always watching him, making sure that he wasn't going to break or suffer a mental breakdown. He had control over his life; he never required the supervising that they were so inclined to give him.

He had ripped the newspaper clipping out of its spot in the newspaper as quietly as he could – and slipped it into the pocket of his pants. The library was silent, and he had assumed that the librarian was sitting at her desk in the front – unaware of what he had done. He knew that she would think the act as blasphemy, and would have immediately ordered his exit out of the building. He took the hat that had been resting on the table beside him, and placed it over his blonde hair. The dark coat that had been hung on the back of the chair was put on, and the hat upon his head was adjusted. It masked his identity – something he had been meticulous about. He learnt long ago not to leave a trace for people to find him – it made him paranoid, he was convinced that someone was looking for him, no matter where he was. The library doors had swung behind him as he made his way down the street to where the taxi cabs frequented. He spotted one, and raised his hand – hailing it over, and as the car pulled to a stop – he found himself opening the door and sliding into the stuffy cab. He told the driver the address, and the cab continued on the road. Silence. That had been the only thing he needed on the journey to the house. Complete and utter silence.

He turns as the cab pulls away from the curb, his blue eyes trailing the path to the house. He takes a quick glance at it, before looking at the clipping of the house in his hands – it doesn't need confirmation, but the end result is the same. _A perfect match_.

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><p><strong>October 23<strong>**rd****, 2012**

**Office of Special Projects.**

_**08:09 am.**_

Deeks wandered into the Mission, his hair still damp from the morning surf – something that was a part of his regular morning routine. He had learnt to change his routine, picking a new beach to surf every morning – or rather, he tried to pick a new spot every morning. No one, except perhaps Eric, understood what it was like to fall into a pattern when it came to surfing. There were specific beaches that got the best waves, and Deeks hated the days where he couldn't surf on them due to the deal he had with the three agents on his team. No regular routines. He was required to switch it up – change his running route, and the coffee shop he bought the morning coffee at. It was quite a hassle but he understood why they – the team, went to such lengths to pound it into his head – keeping a constant routine had almost cost him his life, and he wasn't willing to risk that again. The detective shook out his blonde curls, and glanced around. The absence of his team was noticeable – there was no familiar bickering amongst Sam and Callen, no recognizable laughter coming from Kensi. The lack of noise from the bullpen caused the detective to glance down at his watch as he tried to figure out whether he was incredibly early, or incredibly late. The latter option didn't seem reasonable. He figured that if he was late someone would have tried to call him, demanding his location – Kensi most likely, but it struck him strange that no one was nearby.

A movement in the corner of his eye took him by surprise as his tiny boss stepped beside him. It always amazed Deeks that she had the ability to move through the building as if she was a ghost – he figured she trained with a professional ninja that taught her how to do it, but it didn't explain how Nell managed to do the same. "Your partner is in the gym, Mister Deeks, if that is who you were looking for." She paused, looking up at him with her dark eyes. It was like they could see exactly what was going on in Deeks' mind, and even after three years of working alongside the tiny woman – it still caused him some discomfort. "I will warn you, she seems to be in an unpleasant mood." Deeks' attention snapped back to Hetty as she spoke these words. It was one thing to put up with Kensi Blye on her bad days, but when she was in a mood for no apparent reason ... "It seems that her partner forgot about their morning run." And there was the reason. Deeks winced. He had completely forgotten about his promise to go on a morning run with the brunette agent, but after the lack of progress in the case – especially one concerning a former LAPD officer and friend, he had simply gone surfing. It was something that always seemed to clear his mind, but at the same time it caused him to forget his other plans.

Deeks weighed the choices that were set out in front of him. He could face his partner and apologize repeatedly for forgetting their plans, or he could hide from her for the rest of the day. The look on Hetty's face, however told him the latter option was not a wise choice. Hetty turned to her office, and Deeks watched with a slightly fearful look of what his partner was going to do to him. It was one thing for him to inform her that he wouldn't be able to go through with their plans (which Deeks had to admit – didn't happen often) but another thing for him to blow her off completely. He wasn't sure that Kensi was going to be forgiving about this, but as he watched Hetty sit down at her desk he knew that he had no other option then to go and apologize. He wondered what he could say as he made his way to the gym, the sounds of a punching bag being hit echoing back to him. It occurred to him that he should apologize later, maybe when adrenaline wasn't coursing through her body – but the sight of his partner in the middle of the gym, alone forced him to continue with his apologies. He didn't want to disturb her, so he leant against the doorframe – watching her arms swing out at the bag, causing it to swing widely. Kensi steadied herself, holding her fisted hands out to stop the swinging. He had always been a little intrigued and fascinated with her, even when she was simply Tracey and he was Jason Wyler. Things had made a lot less sense back then, and his lips began to curve upwards at the thought.

"I know you're there." Her voice carried back to him, and it struck him as odd that there was little emotion in her words. He watched her, his head slowly tilting to the right – trying to make out what Kensi was feeling. She was a bit of a mystery to him – even though he vehemently claimed that he knew her better than anyone. He's wasn't surprised that she knew of his presence, Kensi was an amazing agent and particularly good at feeling if someone was watching her. He often wondered it if meant that she was a little bit paranoid, but after the events of the winter – he wouldn't have been surprised if she was the least bit paranoid. "You blew me off." It was only when she turned to face him that he could see the anger in her eyes – it's certainly not evident in her face, but with Kensi – her emotions could always be seen in her eyes. Deeks knew that the only way to get through this was for her to talk it out – allow her to give her someone to push her anger onto. He straightened himself up, and took a hesitant step towards her. "You blew me off." She repeated, her hands curling at her sides.

"I'm sorry." There was something that was bothering her, and Deeks knew that her anger wasn't directed at him specifically – he was perfectly aware of the fact that she was using him as a punching bag, someone she could push her anger on. His blue eyes studied her body language for a moment, before they moved and locked onto her dark ones. "Kens?" He uses a soft tone to address his partner, calling her out – hoping that maybe she'll respond. He knows what a demanding tone will do to her – she'll close up, push him away. She's done it before and he knows that it will happen again, regardless if he tries to stop it. It's her personality, he's worked with her long enough to know that Kensi Blye needs someone to direct her anger to – and in most cases it usually ends up being him. He's always been fine with it though, if it calms her down and it allows her to focus on the day ahead of her – he won't let it bother him. He watches as she goes to turn away from him, and with a few quick steps he's at her side – grabbing her arm, and turning her back towards him again. "Kensi, what's wrong?" A deep breath. Another. Finally her eyes rise to his.

"Nothing, it's something stupid. Don't worry about it." She's avoiding him, avoiding the question. It would be so much simpler if she simply said she didn't want to tell him, and she should know by now that he won't give up questioning her until she gives him an answer. He raises an eyebrow, not believing for one second that it's nothing. Asking him to not worry about it is like asking a baby not to cry – it's impossible. She knows that, and he knows that she knows that. "I don't want to talk about it." Her lip twitches, and immediately Deeks has an idea of what she's angry about. It has nothing to do with him, nor does it have to do with the fact that he blew off the run. In fact, Deeks is pretty sure that Kensi forgot about the run as well – and found herself at the Mission earlier then she had expected to. The little lip twitch indicates that she's been arguing with her mother. He's only seen it a few times, mainly because she has honestly been trying to reconnect with Julia Feldman – but Deeks knows as well as anyone on the team that Kensi doesn't give up certain things as easily. So he drops it, releasing his grip on her arm. His hands move to her gloved hands, and he rips the Velcro strap from around the glove off.

"Guys?" The partners turn to the doorway, and see their intelligence analyst looking at them. "Eric found some new information that might be pertinent to the case; Callen's requesting everyone's presence in Ops."

"Thanks Nell, we'll be there in a few minutes." His attention is no longer on Nell, but back on Kensi. The anger is still in her eyes, but Deeks can tell that it's fading slowly – whatever she and Julia argued about, he knows that they'll work through it. A small smile appears on his partner's face, which causes his own lips to curve upwards. "You good?" A small nod of her head tells him that she'll be fine, and he pulls her other glove off of her hand – before he hands them to her. "Let's go see what our resident hacker found."

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><p>The time it took the pair to reach Ops would have taken a smaller amount of time if Kensi hadn't decided that she had to shower, or if Deeks hadn't refused to leave her. Instead, the partners decided to make the trip to Ops together – which was something Kensi was grateful for at the moment, regardless if she would admit it or not. The doors opened, and the detective and the agent stepped inside the shadowed room. Callen was lounging in one of the Ops chairs, observing something on the monitor. The redheaded analyst was leaning over him, and it was apparent to Kensi that she was pointing something out on the brightly lit screen. At the sound of the Ops doors closing, Callen looked away from the monitor before turning to Eric and nodding. She waited for the blonde technical analyst to tell them about the information that he had found, except he didn't say anything – he simply moved a video conference to the big screen, revealing a dark haired woman, who was watching the room expectantly. A small smile graced Kensi's face as she watched Abby Sciuto's eyes take in everyone. Abby's face turned towards Eric, and Kensi watched as he dipped his head for her to tell them what she found.<p>

"I've missed you guys."

Deeks gave her his lopsided grin, "Abby – you talked with us the other day, it hasn't been that long."

The dark haired woman simply shrugged, "I miss my people when I don't get to see them every day." She paused, taking in their faces again before she continued with her report. "So, Eric brought me up to speed last night about this case that you were working on. Actually, the conversation started because Tony showed up at my place and was a little surprised to see me talking to Eric, although I can't imagine why – we've been dating for awhile. Then he said something about how long distance relationships are hard to maintain and that he's proud of us for keeping this relationship passed one year," She paused at the sight of Eric's face and gave them a hesitant smile, "Sorry. Anyways, Eric brought me up to speed on the case and told me about how you guys didn't have any leads, or rather anything to go on."

Kensi smiled, mainly to herself as she watched Callen turn in his chair to give the technical analyst a look. Callen rarely let the team involve outsiders, not that Abby Sciuto was an outsider – as Kensi knew Callen trusted her, but he didn't enjoy it when the case's information fell into the wrong hands and they had to deal with different agencies staking their claim on it. Eric shrugged sheepishly, and gestured towards the big screen. "If it makes you feel better, Abby had a really good idea."

The team's attention turned back to the forensic specialist, and they could see that she was nodding. "The Navy keeps excellent records of those who were or are involved in the Navy, so I told Eric to send me the fingerprint of the victim to me and I could run it through the database quickly. After I received the message containing the print – I ran it through the massive database that we have in the Navy Yard, and we got a hit on your victim."

Kensi was about to point out that it wasn't a surprise, but the swivel of Eric's chair and the movement of an article on the screen stopped her from speaking. It had no effect on the Special Agent in Charge, as it didn't stop him from turning to their technical analyst and asking, "Where did you get that newspaper clipping from?" Kensi studied the photo – it appeared to show a happy family sitting in front of a house. She frowned and stepped closer, studying the faces – she recognized the little boy's face of that of their victim, and her eyes travelled up to read the headline. Her breathing stopped momentarily as her eyes widened at what she had just read. Her eyes coasted back to Eric, who was grinning.

"Abby has the most magical touch in the world."

The room fell silent, and the technical analyst felt the room's occupants turn and stare at him. Kensi could see Eric's face flush, even in the dimly lit room. She glanced over at Deeks, whose lips had curled into a smirk and Eric coughed before looking at Abby – whose own faced mirrored Deeks'. It was quiet for a few moments before Abby glanced away from the screen and continued tell the OSP team of the information that she had found. The team in the Ops center could hear her typing madly away on her computer, "Apparently the Navy also keeps track of the members that have cold cases attached to their names. When I ran his fingerprints through the entire Navy database, he ended up getting dinged for being a victim involved with a cold case." The team glanced at each other, but continued to remain silent as Abby continued with her information. "G, Sam? I found out why your victim had the old case files in his office. One of the case file numbers Eric sent me matches the case that has to do with the deaths of his family. My hunch is that he was researching cases that were similar to his parents, maybe trying to get some closure."

No one knew what to think. The entire team was trying to wrap their minds about the recent discovery of the man's past, as well as the reasoning behind his holding of the old case files. Callen turned to Deeks, who was deep in thought – Kensi could tell as he was leaning against the table, and wasn't saying anything. "Did he ever mention something like this to you?" Kensi could see that Deeks wasn't going to answer him – her partner was too wrapped up within his own thoughts, and Kensi wondered whether he was racking his brain to see if Hart had ever mentioned this. She took a hesitant step towards Deeks, briefly wondering if he was blaming himself for not asking about his friend's past. Kensi glanced at Callen, and with a slight shake of her head – answered Callen's question. He looked back at Deeks for a second, before turning to Abby. "Thanks Abs."

A smile appeared on the dark haired forensic specialist's face. It was one of the smiles she reserved for a few people – Tony, Gibbs, Eric, and Callen. At least, Kensi had only seen her smile like that at those four people – so she merely assumed that was one of her rare smiles. "I'm only doing my job, G." Her pigtails bounced as she turned her head towards her boyfriend. "I'll talk to you later?" She received a quick nod for her answer, and her smile widened. Abby waved to the rest of the team, and the feed went black.

"We need to talk to his family again." Callen's voice sounded through the Ops center, meeting the eyes of his team members. "Deeks, Kensi – go out to San Diego and talk with his fiancée, she trusts and knows you. Sam and I will talk to his foster sister." With that, the team left Ops – the doors closing behind them.


	10. OF BLESSED MEMORY

**AN; **Okay, it's been awhile since I've updated this story - mainly because I've encountered a problem. My computer will no longer open my documents for this story and the sequels to it. It's going to be a problem since I do not have access to the outlines for the chapters anymore, nor do I have access to the character outlines anymore. I'm going to attempt to fix it but it may prove to be futile. Also, there's the issue with university. I am insanely busy when it comes to my work there - I've got a full course load, and a lot of friends to visit with on a daily basis. I promise, that this story will be finished and it will continue (for I love this series far too much) and it's only a matter of time. Thank you to those who have reviewed, they sincerely brighten my day and I adore reading them. Be patient, I will finish this! I promise!

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><p><strong>October 23rd, 2012<strong>

**Club Illusion.**

_**09:21 am.**_

"I support your idea of sending Kensi and Deeks to San Diego." The car ride to the club had been pretty quiet, and Callen turned to his partner who was getting out of his black Challenger. Callen fixed him with a questioning look, and it never failed to amaze him how little he had to talk in order for Sam to understand him. The two approached the club, walking slower than they normally would. It was starting to feel like one those days where things were definitely not going to make sense, no matter how far the team went searching for answers. "If you send them to San Diego, it means they have to ride in a stuffy car for two hours, talk to his fiancée, and then drive back to Los Angeles in the same stuffy car for another two hours." Sam chuckled to himself, and Callen shook his head as he realized where Sam was going with it. "By the end of the day, they're going to be sick of each other." Sam studied the club, from the exterior. It wasn't surprising that the club was open during certain hours during the day, as a basic restaurant. It was a good way for the owner's of the club to make money, especially for the crowds who liked getting up early – but disliked making the morning breakfast. "As for Abby, well – she's still as exuberant as the last time I talked to her."

Callen smirked, "her energetic energy has the potential of being contagious – usually whenever Deeks talks to Abby, things get a little out of control. I suppose she just has that kind of effect on people." He glanced at his partner, who didn't appear to agree with Callen's statement.

Sam scoffed, "Abby's energy infecting you? I'd pay to see the day that happens." Sam had never seen his partner lighten up, he owed it to the fact that his partner hadn't had the best childhood nor had he had anyone to support him growing up. The OSP team was his family, and Sam knew that Callen knew that the team would follow him anywhere. In fact, they had repeatedly proved that to him – Sam hoped his partner saw that. It had been awhile since Callen had gone lone wolf on them, something had changed – something had tied him to the team, more so then usual. He wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed it, but he certainly had. Callen's temper had calmed, never wavering from the easy going leader that he adopted a few months ago. Sam knew that if something drastic had changed, Callen would tell him when he was ready – or rather, he assumed Callen would tell him. They had been after all, partners for almost six years.

Callen rolled his eyes at his partner's comment, he could loosen up if he wanted to – but the Special Agent in Charge had chosen to pursue a life where stress was the first emotion he would feel every morning. "Ever thought about what we'd do if Eric decided to leave us and move to Washington?" Callen had. It was hard for him to imagine the team without Eric Beale, the man who had been on it for almost as long as he had. He chuckled as another thought travelled through his mind. "What would Gibbs do to us, if Abby decided to leave Washington for California?" Nothing good. That's what Callen figured.

"I'd rather not find out, because I feel as though it's going to end up being a huge pissing match between Gibbs and Hetty. Gibbs wouldn't want to see Abby leave Washington, and Hetty would refuse to let Eric leave California." Sam had a point. Callen had always wondered what they would do if they were to lose one of the most valuable members of their team. He knew both Hetty and Gibbs, and knew how stubborn the two of them could be. He was confident that neither would go down without a fight, and Vance – or whoever was in charge if the decision were to be made, would have to step in and stop it. The partners pushed the doors open to the club, and stepped inside. The main part of the club appeared lighter than it had a few nights before. Callen supposed it was because what had appeared to be black walls, were actually windows – and their blinds were pulled up, letting in the Californian sun.

They scanned the room for the deceased's sister, before Callen turn to Sam. "My bet is on Hetty winning." Sam chuckled beside him, then nudged him and pointed out the familiar face of the foster sister. They made their way towards her, and she glanced up at them. Her smile was soft, and she appeared to be incredibly friendly.

"Can I get you guys a table?"

"No, but thanks. I'm Special Agent Sam Hanna, and this is my partner Special Agent Callen." Sam held out his badge, showing her that he was from NCIS. Beside him, Callen did the same before he placed his badge back into the pocket of his pants. He allowed his partner to do the talking, knowing that his tone of voice would be a lot more comforting then his own. "We just need to talk to you about your foster brother; we understand that you two were close." Amanda Hart hesitantly put down the glass she had been cleaning, and gestured for them to follow her. Callen could tell that she was upset, but was surprised at how well she controlled her emotions. It was only when she went to unlock the door that he could see the shaking of her hands.

"We can talk in here." Sam and Callen stepped in, and Amanda quietly closed the door behind her. She looked at their faces, and while both federal agents had attempted to keep a calm facade around the woman, she could feel that something was wrong. "It's bad news, isn't it? There's no use in telling me that it isn't, I can feel that something's happened. I tried calling him yesterday, when he missed our weekly phone call but there wasn't an answer. Something's happened, right?" Sam glanced at Callen, who was watching the woman closely. Amanda's hands had increased in their shaking and Sam took a step towards the distraught woman, before wrapping a steady hand over hers and leading her to the couch.

Callen had stepped away, and was looking at the photos that lined the wall of the back room. He had never dealt with the distraught families well; he had left that for Sam to deal with – much to his partner's dismay. Callen handled the investigation of the case better then he handled grieving families, that certainly wasn't something he had been trained for in the DEA – then again, he had only been trained to handle the drugs that passed through the boarders of the country. He turned back towards his partner and the foster sister, taking on a softer tone that he rarely used. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but we found your brother in his home on Saturday morning. We're doing everything we can to bring the person who did this in, but we'd like to ask you a few questions." Amanda Hart appeared to be in shock. Her head was placed in her hands, and Callen could see that her breathing was unsteady – like she was trying to keep herself from sobbing.

Sam sat down next to her, placing a comforting arm around the woman's shoulder. "Amanda, when was that last time you talked to your brother?"

She looked up at him, her tear-filled gaze focussing on his face. "Um, a few days ago? I think?" Her eyebrows knitted together as she thought about the last time she had spoken to her brother. "It was a few days ago, the 19th? He called me to see if I was okay, just to check in like he normally did. I mean, it was odd that he called me then because he was supposed to call yesterday when he forgot to call me." She took a shallow breath in, her tongue running over her lips as she tried to calm herself down. "He always calls me on Mondays, even if he's called earlier in the week – Mondays were our days to talk to one another, because Monday is the only day I'm not working. Sometimes we'd get lunch, and I wanted to know if he wanted to catch up – but when he didn't answer, I started getting worried and Andie wasn't at home. I wasn't sure what to think. I thought they went out of town for a few days before Andie went into labor, but I didn't think this could happen." She turned to Callen, "Why now? Why has it taken so long for you two notify me? Does Andie know? She should, she's his fiancée. She's pregnant with his baby." Amanda was starting to ramble, and Callen wondered if this was a way for her to calm herself.

"It's an ongoing investigation, and we wanted to make sure that everything was in order before we started notifying next of kin. Your brother's fiancée has been informed, and is currently staying with her sister in San Diego." Callen told her, as softly as he could. "We need to know if you knew who your brother's birth parents were, or if he had any information on them."

Amanda thought for a moment, before she shook her head. "No, Lucas was looking for them – that's all I know. I told him that he didn't need to, that my parents were his family but he was curious." Her lips curved into a smile as she thought about her brother, "He was always such a curious person. Questioning everything that happened in his life. He was a good person, and would have been such a good husband and father. I can't believe this is happening, or I guess happened to my family – to Andie's family."

"I'm sorry we bothered you," Callen started – digging in his pocket for a piece of paper that held the number to Ops. "You have our deepest condolences for your loss. If you remember, or need anything – don't hesitate to call this number, and you'll be directed to either Sam or myself. If you need anything, please call." A small smile crossed the woman's features as she took the piece of paper from his hand. She dipped her head in thanks, her bloodshot eyes following the agents as they left the room – leaving her alone to deal with her inner thoughts.

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><p><strong>October 23rd, 2012<strong>

**Christina Fuller's Home.**

_**10:34 am.**_

The two hour and some drive didn't leave Kensi or Deeks in the most conversational mood. Kensi had rolled down the windows in the car, and the two of them were enjoying the quiet and the warmth of the sun. Kensi was used to Deeks being quiet in the long rides to other locations, neither Sam nor Callen had experienced this with him, but within the three years she had been his partner – Kensi had gotten used to the quiet during the drive. Of course, it was everywhere else where she accustomed to her partner remaining silent – just driving long distances. She slowed, and stopped her car in front of the sister's place, where Andrea was staying. Kensi felt a twinge of pain in her heart, she could understand what this felt like. She was only thirty, and she knew she had lost a lot more than the average person did within their entire life. "I can relate to what Andrea's going through. I mean, my fiancé left me and I get that Hart didn't leave her willingly, but I can still understand the pain."

Deeks considered it for a moment, "True, but at the same time you had a sense that he was still alive. Andie's lost that, she has no hope for this entire thing being a mistake." Kensi hadn't thought about it that way, she did have hope that maybe one day her fiancé would come back and redeem himself – and when he hadn't, she had closed herself off – more so then when her father had died. Deeks raised his hand and knocked on the door. To their surprise, Andrea St. Claire opened the door and when she saw who it was – gave them a quick smile. A smile that perhaps was a little too quick, and Deeks could see it in her eyes that she was still hurting – and it was a lot. He reached out, and hugged her as best he could without her swollen belly getting in the way. "How are you?" He asked, stepping back – looking over her, simply making sure that she wasn't harmed in any way.

"Trying to cope." She offered with a small smile, she glanced at Kensi and gestured for the two of them to come inside. Before they had even made it two steps into the door, two young kids came running into the room. Almost immediately upon seeing Kensi and Deeks, they stopped in their tracks and shyly hid behind Andrea. She smiled warmly at them, before turning her attention to the partners again. "These are my sister's kids. This is Sasha," she gestured to the younger girl, who was studying the partners skeptically – as if she was debating on whether they meant harm, or were nice people. "And this is Darren." She touched the boy's head lightly, as he came to stand by his aunt's side.

It appeared they were dressed in beachwear, they both had swimsuits on – and looked like they were anxious to get out of the house. Deeks could understand why, the day had started absolutely beautiful and the sun was just getting warmer and warmer. Deeks knelt down in front of them, allowing himself to be at eye level – in order not to freak them out. "You guys look like you're ready to go to the beach."

"Auntie Andie was taking us there." Sasha's voice sounded through the room, and she took a step closer to Deeks – who grinned at her.

Deeks glanced up at Andie, who was looking at her niece and nephew fondly. "Chris went to the store to get some things for lunch, and I promised them that I would take them to the beach."

Deeks lowered his gaze from his deceased friend's fiancée, and grinned at the kids. "Do you still want to go to the beach?" He received a nod from each child, and it caused his smile to widen. "Good, because that's my favorite place in the entire world and if you want to have fun at the beach – you've met the right person. We're going to have a lot of fun okay?" He received another nod from them, and he held out his hand. Sasha took it first, and Darren glanced up at his aunt – who smiled at him, urging him to go with the blonde detective. Darren took a few hesitant steps forwards, but Sasha held out her own hand to her younger brother – and he took it gratefully. "Ready?" The two children nodded again, and Deeks led them out of the house – Kensi and Andrea following them at a slower pace. The five of them made their way down to the beach – the two kids and Deeks were further ahead, and Andrea and Kensi watched them jog towards the water. Deeks stopped, and Kensi frowned – wondering what her partner was doing. He reached down, and with one swift motion – Darren was atop of his shoulders, and Sasha was pulling on her partner's arm.

As Kensi watched her partner race towards the water, she turned back to Andrea. "What are your plans for the baby?" Her eyes flickered back to Deeks, watching him as he raced the little girl across the sand – her brother still on his shoulders. She smiled absently at him; she had long since begun to understand why he was so good with kids but seeing him interact with them, never failed to make her smile.

"I still don't know. Lucas and I had a tentative plan for the baby, and he had chosen the various places that he wanted our child to go to school – so I'm going to try and honor that. It's going to be hard, Chris said she'd come up and help me whenever I wanted – but she's already so busy with Sasha and Darren, that I don't want to bother her. Mason, her husband is a huge help to her – but he has to leave on business sometimes, which I know stresses her out." Andrea's eyes followed Deeks, and Kensi helped the woman to sit down in the sand, both of their attention returning to the blonde detective and the two kids. They watched in silence as Deeks dove into the water beside the two kids, before popping back up and throwing the girl into the ocean water. A girlish shriek came from their general direction, and Sasha pressed on Deeks' head – causing him to go under, before swimming back up and shaking his wet hair – spraying both of the kids with water. Giggles emitted from both children, and smiles instantly rose on both Andrea and Kensi's faces.

"Did Lucas ever mention his parents? Or family?"

"A sister, he talked to her regularly – Amanda. She's so different then he was, more outgoing and social. She has a kind heart though, and she absolutely adored Lucas. He always made a big deal on Mondays because that was his day that he called her to make sure she was doing okay. She's one of the sweetest people I've ever met." Andrea paused, before glancing at Kensi who was watching Deeks and Andrea's niece and nephew. "I asked him about his biological parents a few months back, it was simply curiosity because I know that he wanted to find them. I wasn't sure whether it was because of the upcoming birth of the baby, or the wedding, or maybe if it was just his own curiosity but he was looking for them." Andrea sighed, "I tried to get him to open up, maybe share some of the details that he had found about them with me. But the topic was out of bounds for our normal conversations, he told me that he didn't want to burden me with this until he had answers. I dropped it after that, I respected his decision." Kensi nodded, she knew that there was always certain things that needed to stay private – everyone on her team understood that as well, even if it was rare for them to actually stop asking questions. Their attention returned to the water, where Deeks was splashing around with the kids, before launching Darren into the air. "Marty's good with kids."

Kensi smiled, "He's always been a child at heart – I think that's why he is good with them, he simply understands them."

Andrea shook her head, studying Deeks' interaction with Sasha and Darren. "No, it's more than that. He genuinely wants to see them smile. The first time I met him, he was just as he is now – joking, but respectful and observant at the same time. That man has layers, Agent Blye – some I doubt you will ever see." Deeks glanced back at the two women, sitting on the beach – his eyes focused in on his partner and he grinned at her. She didn't doubt Andrea's words for one second, her partner was a complex individual and she had only seen few layers as to who he really was.


	11. AGAINST GOOD MORALS

**AN;** I'm back, you beautiful people! I have finally caught up on all the newest episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and I could not be happier. Although, I am feeling a sense of anxiety over the fact that my precious baby may not be okay. However, spoilers and I shall not reveal more. I'm slowly writing out all the chapters again, and as of right now I've only got two more chapters that I can post for you lovely people. I'm going back to my system of write a chapter - post a chapter. This way, it'll keep all of you happy and my muses still going. I'm still not out of school, which will continue to slow my progress of this story down - but nonetheless I will try to have a chapter up within the next few weeks. Thank you to those who have stuck by this story, and please continue to review it and read it (: It really means a lot.

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><p><strong>October 23rd, 2012<strong>

**Office of Special Projects.**

**01:45 pm.**

The specialised team met back at the Mission – they had all taken a lunch break, and the two junior members of the team had arrived back from San Diego in contrasting moods. Kensi was in a completely foul mood, while Deeks managed to maintain a more pleasant one. After he had taken one look at Kensi's face, Callen knew that sending her to San Diego probably hadn't be the best idea. Kensi became irritable if she had to spend hours in a car, especially if the long rides were all within one day. It was why he rarely travelled with her, and left her partner to deal with her irritable moods. He glanced at Deeks, who was watching his partner with a weary expression. After taking in Callen, and Sam's expression – Kensi stomped off to the women's locker room; Callen watched her leave with a slightly amused expression. He had always found light in Kensi's tetchy moods, and would tease her whenever he had the chance. He only did so when they were alone, it was his as a mentor – and her as a protégée way of keeping things light between them, something private and personal. Callen's attention soon focussed on Deeks, who was still watching his partner wearily.

"I don't think Kensi enjoys riding in a car for four hours in one morning." The blonde detective turned his head towards the hallway his partner had previously stormed through, before shaking his head and shrugging. "I swear I didn't do anything to annoy her." Callen knew that the partners bickered and teased each other mercilessly – but he couldn't see Deeks annoying her further when he knew that she was already irritated. Deeks was the only person Callen knew who could read Kensi like she was an open book – a lot of people had a problem with understanding Kensi's thoughts, feelings or actions – but somehow Deeks had become as attuned to them as Callen once was. He hated to admit it, especially since Callen had been the person closest to Kensi for the longest time – but he was glad that there was someone else to watch Kensi's back, and make sure that she was okay. The woman was like a little sister to the older agent, and he didn't want to see anything happen to her.

"Mister Callen." Hetty's voice echoed through the Mission, and the team – minus Kensi, turned towards their boss who was standing by her office. Hetty frowned for a moment, taking in the sight of her team – albeit one member was missing. "Where is Miss Blye?" The men exchanged weary glances, and Deeks turned back – opening his mouth to speak, but was waved off from having to explain. She had known Kensi for years, and had seen the woman that Miss Blye had grown to be – but there were moments in Kensi's strong facade that needed to be nursed once and awhile, and only the woman herself could do that. Hetty turned her attention back to Callen, "Mister Callen, I was hoping that you would be able to give me an update on the case you are working on."

"All we know is that Hart was put into the foster system at a young age, and he drifted from home to home until he was adopted by Amanda Hart's family. He later joined the LAPD and worked there for a few years after his university degree before joining the Marine Corp – where he maintained a position of Staff Sergeant." Callen's eyes wandered back to the hallway where Kensi had disappeared to, and briefly wondered whether his junior field agent would be returning to the main part of the Mission any time soon. Long car rides had never settled well with Kensi, especially if those drives had to be made within hours. The chances of Kensi having been the one to drive home were slim; she rarely enjoyed driving for hours on end – and Deeks was most likely the one to haven driven home. Callen could count how many times he had to get behind the wheel with his favorite agent staring moodily out the window – she was usually enjoyable to be around, but when it came down to long rides in short periods of time, it was something that Callen would rather not experience again. "His family was killed by what appears to be a serial killer, who had killed other parents of multiple families until the killings finally stopped – although authorities had no idea as to why."

"Who was in charge of overseeing the cases?"

It seemed that Deeks wasn't paying attention, but he glanced away from the hallway in which his partner had disappeared down towards the tiny woman. He straightened himself so that he wasn't leaning on the pillar near her office, and spoke up. "LAPD had full jurisdiction of the case, as each of the cases were located in Los Angeles and nowhere else. Although, I believe the NCIS Field Office in San Diego were about to become involved as Lucas' father was a Marine before his death. As to why they didn't start a new investigation, I have no idea." He hadn't gotten far into the research, and the few people he had talked to on the phone about the cases – had told him the same thing: they didn't know. The entire case was beginning to frustrate him, and he found himself becoming angry at his old friend. It wasn't the right thing to do – seeing as Lucas Hart had no choice in the matter, Deeks only wished that his former mentor and friend would have mentioned his curiosity about the old cases – then perhaps Deeks' NCIS team wouldn't be investigating his death.

Hetty studied the team individually, seeing how each member was reacting what sounded like a lack of progress, "Mister Deeks and Mister Callen, I would like you to go to LAPD and gather the actual case files for the investigations. I believe that they may help us understand what Mister Hart was looking for, and perhaps that may help us." Her team made no move to leave, and Hetty knew all too well that today was going to be a slow day – for all of them. "This is simply a collection of evidence, and I'm sending my Special Agent in Charge to oversee that the transfer of the files to NCIS Custody is properly gone through, and I'm sending my LAPD Liaison to help the transfer go more smoothly – I trust that the two of you can understand that as an order, and not a suggestion." She raised an eyebrow at the three of them, Sam looked more relaxed than the rest of her team and he offered her a warm smile – understanding that this was an easy task, not something that was going to turn into a shootout. Although, as Hetty thought about this – she was aware of the reputation Mister Deeks had with the LAPD, though she hoped that things would be dealt with in a more civil manner.

Deeks and Callen glanced at each other, before shrugging. Callen glanced back at Sam, who waved his partner off. Sam wasn't too concerned about his partner's wellbeing. Deeks was perfectly capable of watching Callen's back if need be, and the detective had done his fair share of work looking after Kensi – who was almost as bad for getting into trouble as Callen. Like mentor, like protégée – Sam supposed. With a quick smile towards his partner, he moved to the bullpen – he planned on taking the silence that would come with the absence of Deeks and Callen to work on the reports for cases they hadn't had the time to finish writing. Callen turned to Deeks, "I'm driving." Deeks didn't even bother saying a word; he had long since accepted that whenever he rode with an NCIS agent – his driving time would be severely cut in half. Whenever Deeks was able to get behind the wheel, without someone telling him that they were driving – he relished the chance, and didn't take it for granted. He had long since stopped wondering whether it was an agent thing, and had accepted that the only time that he would be able to drive – was when his partner wasn't up for it. Sometimes it happened, and other times he had to simply sit back and relax.

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><p><strong>October 23rd, 2012<strong>

**Los Angeles Police Department.**

**02:23 pm.**

Callen and Deeks were being escorted through a seemingly abandoned hall, which led to the LAPD archives. Callen had watched with amusement as Deeks argued with one of the officers – blatantly telling the man that he was a part of this particular department and he had a right to go to the archives, by himself. He had lost that argument, which was why the agent and detective were being led to the archives by the officer that Deeks had been arguing with. Deeks wasn't happy with this arrangement, and followed the officer with some resentment. He knew this officer was new, a rookie – who hadn't gotten the stories from his superiors about how the infamous Marty Deeks worked. While G Callen was a legend in the government agencies, Marty Deeks had his own "legacy" through the LAPD department – needless to say, Deeks' "legacy" in the department wasn't as gratifying as Callen's was. In fact, Deeks was pretty sure that the stories that were spread through the department were the cause of the hate that the blonde detective received from various officers, and fellow detectives.

"Deeks!" The blonde detective looked from the younger officer, who was clearly confused at the greeting he was observing. Matt Bernhart emerged from the archive room, holding a file. He shifted it to under his arm, and reached out to shake the detective's hand. Deeks grinned, and grasped the man's hand. "It's been a long time." Matt looked past Deeks, and saw Callen standing behind him. "Special Agent Callen, it's been awhile since I've seen you around. Although, I'm partly to blame for that – been undercover for awhile, working a case. Plus, you and your team have this habit of disappearing – but it's good to see you, man." It was then Matt noticed the officer, who was still standing by the group watching the exchange. "Farraday – don't you have a job to do?" Deeks chuckled. It had been awhile since he had seen Matt last, and while it didn't surprise Deeks that Matt knew Callen – he was curious as to how the two of them had met. Matt was one of the few officers that Deeks got along with in the department; there were very few LAPD members that still accepted the blonde detective – especially since he had gotten himself involved with NCIS. Matt looked like he wanted to stay longer, but both Deeks and Callen could see that he was in the middle of something. "I'd love to chat – but I've got this undercover operation to oversee, and I need to get back to my team."

"It was good seeing you, Matt." Deeks told the man sincerely, the two had always gotten along – he was one of the few people who Deeks would trust within the department, and if anyone needed something from LAPD and Deeks was unreachable, the first person he would want his team to go and see would be Matt. He still wondered how Matt and Callen knew each other as it seemed like the two worked together at one point – before his time at NCIS. The man moved passed Deeks, and Callen – giving a nod to the latter, before walking down the hallway. Deeks watched Matt's back for a few seconds before he turned to Callen, "So, you and Matt know each other?" Deeks pushed open the door to the room that contained the files that they needed, holding it open for Callen.

"We worked a case with him a few years ago, Kensi was shot." Callen smirked at Deeks – whose head turned quickly back to Callen, staring at him in disbelief. "It wasn't real, if that helps." Callen knew how Deeks would take the news to his partner being shot. He had worked with the both of them long enough to know that if one of them got hurt – there was nothing the other partner wouldn't do for them. It was how Callen thought partnerships were supposed to work, and he took great comfort in the fact that the specialized team he worked with were always going to have each other's backs. "Matt, Sam, Renko and I were posing as armed robbers – we stormed the bank and Matt shot Kensi. It was the only way we could nail the men who were after the frozen FBI terrorist funds." Deeks had calmed some, the fright of his partner being shot had left his body and he was regarding Callen with a less then amused expression.

"Thanks for that." Deeks replied dryly, and he approached the officer who was standing guard of the archive room. "Hey, we're looking for some specific files. They're about forty years old." It was an odd request; it was rare for anyone to ask for files that were over ten years old. There weren't many people who wanted to look at old case files, especially the cold cases – Deeks found that a lot of officers found the cold cases disappointing, or depressing; like they could have done more, even if they hadn't been working the case. It was simply a feeling that all officers of the LAPD precinct felt once in their life – Deeks, himself had experienced it – which was why he rarely ended up in the archive room at the department. Deeks gave the officer the case numbers, and the two waited patiently for the man to finish his search of the location of the files.

"I'm sorry, but you're not going to be able to access them."

Deeks frowned, and leaned closer to the officer – who looked up from the papers he was holding, which Callen presumed was the information on the files. "I'm fairly certain that I have access to them, I am a member of this department and we're conducting a federal investigation."

"No, you can't access them because LAPD doesn't have the files anymore."

"Then where are they?" Deeks knew as well as the officer that the files should still be in the file room. The officer looked at the notes that were taken about the files, and glanced up at the blonde detective and his companion.

"Apparently they went missing a few months back. It's not uncommon for files to be misplaced, but it's odd that there's a note about it on here – usually that only happens if someone was looking into the cases. It appears that Lucas Hart was looking for the files but couldn't find them, even though he had them a few months before their disappearance. I know that because he wanted photocopies of some of the case notes."

"You do realize that you're not allowed to give case notes to those who aren't a part of LAPD." Deeks told the officer, who had paled visibly at his mistake. Deeks could understand though, why someone would allow Lucas to see the files – as he was one of the most respected members that had come through the force. It didn't matter – if his investigation into the murders from forty years ago was what had gotten him killed, Deeks wasn't going to be incredibly forgiving to those who had allowed him access to the files. Before the officer could dig himself into a deeper hole, Deeks held out his hand – "Let me see the logs of the sign in sheets during the two time periods." Hesitantly the officer handed Deeks the sheet, who passed it to Callen; while he continued to stare at the officer with narrowed eyes. The NCIS Agent scanned the sheet briefly, but nothing seemed out of place. Lucas Hart was the only noted person to view those particular files, and there was nothing else indicating that anyone had recently accessed them.

"Is it possible for someone to break in and steal the records of the case files?" Callen asked, directing his question at Deeks – but to his annoyance it was the officer who answered.

"The only likely time would be during shift change."

A sigh of frustration came from the detective's mouth, and he reached up to scratch the nape of his neck. "In order to get the basics of what happened during the case, we're going to either need the case files or someone who knew the case like the back of his or her hand – no one knows the case anymore, so we're going to have a tough time finding out what they could have missed back then."

A small cough was emitted by the officer, "That's not exactly true." Callen and Deeks glanced at the man, giving him a questioning look. He coughed again, clearing his throat – appearing nervous to both of the men, who were awaiting an answer. He didn't answer immediately, instead watched the two – slightly intimidating men, although the shorter agent was by far a little more intimidating before he spoke. "The lead detective that was on the case is usually found in the coffee house by the precinct, if you go there you'll probably be able to find him."

Callen handed the officer back the logs, "Does this investigating officer have a name?"


End file.
